The Fourth Beast
by LonelyDreamer00
Summary: In order for Shinto Religion to thrive and prosper Amaterasu made a bargain with a savior from another dimension. It was the worst bargain she had ever made. Because instead of a Hero who values Shinto culture, she got a Beast who can go against the likes of Ophis and Great Red.
1. Chapter 1

**A Brand New Story … Yah, I should focus on my old ones but I wanted to try something new/ unique/ weird for a change. Usually I will not write something like this but first time for everything I guess. Also, I will be using this story to improve my writing so I will try out various styles.**

 **So here you go, an unusual type of story from me.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **A New Faction**

 **I**

Ajuka didn't want to be here. He had better things to do than to sit on this exaggerated show of authority and power. Unfortunately he had no other choice, this was one of those occasions where he needed to attend as a Maou. But at least, to him that is, he wasn't the one who was taking the blunt of this show. As his eyes subtly landed on his longtime and best friend, Sirzechs, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

At least for Ajuka, all he had to do was sit, nod and answer a few questions here and there. In a sense, he had to act and be like a mascot … a prized mascot to be shown and presented to the mass. He was fine going along with it. But unlike him, Sirzechs had to take the full consequences of being a Maou, whether he liked it or not.

" _Maou, is it?"_ Ajuka snorted seeing the slight twitch on Sirzechs's index and middle finger of his right hand. Not many know of it, but it was his bad habit when he wanted to blow someone away, literally. It didn't come as a surprise to Ajuka seeing who Sirzechs was talking to. Closing his eyes, he turned away from the discussion happening a few feet away from him. He didn't need to listen till the end of the conversation since he already knew the outcome. Even though the term Maou means they should have the full authority over the Underworld, the truth was very far from it. It was the Bael clan along with few other clans and individuals who truly control the underworld, through politics and connection. The four Maou did have some hold over the underworld but they were more like celebrities.

If he were to put it in human's term, the four Maou were the powerful and honorable generals while _those_ old devils were the crafty and resourceful senators.

Ajuka turned to his side to see his friend sitting back down, his wife stood on the other side of the chair. Although he looked like his usual self, Ajuka didn't miss the exhaustion and regret in his eyes, "Did they agree?"

Just for a split second, Sirzechs's mask cracked. But he quickly composed himself. After all, his best friend had been handling these types of situation for around two hundred years. Putting back the fake smile, he looked down toward the middle of the stadium, "They did."

Ajuka didn't say anything, he didn't need to because he knew that there was a 'But' coming. And just like he thought, a moment later Sirzechs added the last part, "They want to put on a show first. They want me to intervene at the very last minute."

Usually, Ajuka didn't care much about others if they were strangers to him. But as he looked down, he unknowingly let out a heavy sigh.

In the middle of this huge stadium the devils created a small stage, just for her. The little Nekoshou girl was no more than eleven to twelve years old. There were four large devil guards surrounding her, each holding a chain connected to her body. They were presenting her as if she was a notorious criminal. The girl wasn't crying but Ajuka could tell, she was so terrified that she closed off all her emotions. It wouldn't be long before she would start to throw away all those emotions, just to stay sane.

That wasn't the worst part.

All the devils inside the stadium were boo-ing or shouting at the little Nekoshou. Some were even making very crude and vulgar remarks. But Ajuka knew that many of these devils took part in that heinous act the day before. They ought to be hanged or at least arrested. But unfortunately, a lot of these devils were heirs and heiresses while quite a few lords participated as well. In other words, their hands were tied.

It was a mess.

"It's a mess."

Ajuka looked at Sirzechs with a raised eyebrow.

"We are supposed to be different from the Old devils, Ajuka." Sirzechs murmured, his face still held that forced smile but his voice didn't, "We are supposed to be the civilized ones. And look at what we just pardoned."

"It is not us who pardoned them," Ajuka answered. Though it was vague, he was sure Sirzechs got the rest of it.

"Yes, we didn't but …"

Ajuka knew why Sirzechs didn't finish. Both of them noticed that the stadium became very quiet all of a sudden. Their battle instincts immediately kicked in. But instead of showing distress or jumping to action, they calmly looked at the source.

There was a sixth member on that small stage now.

The man … No; Ajuka could tell just by one glance that he was no _ordinary_ man. He wasn't wearing anything fancy like them; just a simple white robe, and from the looks of it he had a full-bodied black garment underneath it. He was powerful, from what he could sense. But at max it was at medium ultimate class level; maybe slightly lower?

But it was his unique ripple-patterned eyes that rang all the warning bells, and he was sure his friend was feeling the same.

His eyes didn't have any irises, just a black ripple pattern that spread over the silver-purple sclera. He had never seen anything like this.

Then Ajuka noticed it.

The four guards on the stage, although looking at him, weren't moving at all.

Sirzechs stood up and stepped forward, so did he. But he was slightly behind, standing beside Grayfia.

"May I know who you are?" Sirzechs asked, although his voice was polite but his face lost all the cheerfulness.

The being didn't answer; rather he turned toward the little girl. From here, they couldn't hear what he said but it was his next move that made everyone to be truly wary of him; because he destroyed the young Nekoshou's bindings just by simply touching them. Those were special chains created by Ajuka to detain even the ultimate-class devils. And the worst part, they didn't feel any power-ups nor saw any abilities being used.

"Apprehend him right now!"

Immediately the stadium came to life. Ajuka didn't know who gave that order since both he and Sirzechs were too preoccupied gauging out _the guest_. It was because of this that Sirzechs couldn't react on time to nullify the order, as tens of guards rushed toward the stage.

In response, the being only waved his hand.

The guards who were going at him were now going away from him, thrice as fast. They crashed onto the wall, and the one after it. And Ajuka could sense that those _elite_ guards wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

The stadium became silent once again.

Then the being touched the little Nekoshou. And instantly she disappeared. Ajuka knew Sirzechs wasn't the type to make the same mistake twice. So before every devil in the stadium could lash out again, Sirzechs let out a little of his power. A silent command, to all, to stay put.

"My name is Naruto Ōtsutsuki."

This was the first time he spoke. But that one sentence answered all of his and Sirzech's question.

"You are Yasaka's husband, leader of …"

The youkai called Naruto rudely interrupted Sirzechs, "The King of Youkai." Then he turned his head from one side to another. Ajuka had a hunch that it wasn't just a simple gaze.

"You should know why I am here."

His tone didn't hold any anger. It was as if he was just stating a simple fact.

"For the Nekoshou incident I presume."

Sirzechs turned to look at the speaker. But Ajuka didn't. There was no need since he knew that voice anywhere. It was Zekram Bael. It was only times like these that he appreciated the old fox. Because when it came to 'Politics', he was the best there was.

The youkai, Naruto, didn't respond; as if he was waiting for Zekram to continue.

"Seeing that you just deliberately took away the convict's sister, it is safe to assume that you, and in extension, the whole Youkai faction is housing the convict."

Ajuka had to give it to Zekram. The old devil was a master at manipulating and turning the tables during discussions. After all, that was how he became the de facto leader of the Devils after the death of the original Four Great Satan.

"I will return both of them, only if you return the Nekoshou clan to us."

Zekram didn't stop for a moment. He calmly replied back as if he knew this was coming from miles away, "Are you really trying to play word game here, _boy_?" Ajuka knew he deliberately belittled Naruto to get a reaction out of him. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't even twitch. Zekram continued regardless, "If you are here then you should know what happened to them and why?"

"I suppose you got me." Naruto chuckled. It was very hard to distinguish his true emotions, especially because of his eyes. And although Naruto was fully facing Zekram, for some reason Ajuka could feel his gaze on him. It was quite unsettling.

"But here is the thing. I do know what happened to them but I just don't know why? I mean I thought there was an agreement between the two factions."

Ajuka's eyebrow twitched for a moment. He could sense that Sirzechs also got uncomfortable at the mention of the 'Agreement'.

And just like Ajuka expected, Zekram once again took control of the conversation, "I do not know what kinds of lies the convict told you. But here is the truth, she went crazy while practicing senjutsu and killed her master. And we found out that all the Nekoshou knew Senjutsu to some extent. The devils went to the Nekoshou clan to apprehend them. They retaliated badly and things escalated …"

Naruto didn't let him finish, "How can things escalate to a point that not a single Nekoshou survived yet not a single devil was harmed?"

This time Zekram came to a full stop. And this comment made Ajuka frown. Because the only way Naruto could have known about this was …

"And last time I checked, according to _your_ laws, the convict wasn't supposed to be considered as a Nekoshou but rather as a reincarnated devil." Naruto didn't wait for them as he went on, "Also if she had gone crazy from practicing Senjutsu, which is quite laughable to be honest but I will go along with you, how come she killed only one person?"

The silence lingered only for few seconds, but it felt quite long for Ajuka. Finally,

"Are you mocking me?"

Ajuka didn't like where this was going. And he knew neither did Sirzechs. Zekram was trying to rile up other devils.

Zekram's voice was low, to the most devils it was as if the old fox's voice was filled with pride and warning, but Sirzechs and he knew that it was nothing but a hoax, "I will agree that you are making some valid points. But," He took a step forward, and let his power out, "Not only did you barged in unannounced, took away our prisoner, but now you are … mocking me; in our territory?"

Just like that the hold Sirzechs had on the devils inside the stadium till now … broke.

"Who the fuck you think you are?"

"A lowly youkai thinks he can talk back to us!"

"Those bitches got what they deserve."

And it went on.

The once quiet stadium erupted. The anger and the power from the masses were coming in waves. The only reason Naruto wasn't outright attacked by other devils was because of those four guards, who even with all these commotions, didn't move at all. And the reason the Maou didn't attack him was because of the disturbing feeling they were getting. It wasn't his power but something about him just didn't feel right with them.

"So this is your answer."

The voice was barely audible.

But in the next second, Sirzechs was in front of Naruto, his right hand trying to grab the youkai by his face. Ajuka was on their side, readying his 'Kankara Formula' while Grayfia was on top creating ice pillars around them.

The reason they finally reacted was that, in a split second, Naruto's power just vanished. From all the way to Ultimate class to suddenly … nothing. There were only three possibilities. One was that the being died in a way that not even a speck of him remained. The second was that he could be readying a technique that required all of his power. Third, which was the most worrying, was that his power went on a level that they couldn't properly sense it anymore.

In Naruto's case, Ajuka had a hunch that it was the third case. He wished he was wrong but he knew it was highly unlikely; which meant that the situation had changed. And Ajuka wasn't going to sit around and wait for Naruto to pull something in the middle of the stadium, not when one-third of the stadium was filled with important devils.

Ajuka moved first, but Sirzechs followed immediately and took the lead. Grayfia was behind to make sure to cover for them.

But ultimately he couldn't activate his 'Kankara Formula' since Naruto disappeared … along with Sirzechs.

Grayfia landed in front him, pure shock and disbelief filled her gaze, which slowly were turning to fear. And Ajuka was sure that even his eyes were mirroring Grayfia's emotions. Then suddenly both of them looked up.

After Zekram's enticement, the stadium was filled with shouts of anger at Naruto, which a second later should have turned into cries of surprise to see their Lucifer vanishing. But they weren't given that time. Right now almost all the devils were screaming for their lives as a massive meteorite, at least seven to eight times larger than the stadium, was falling down.

Falling down wouldn't be the right word to use as the meteorite was barely few hundred feet above the stadium.

First, Ajuka thought of using 'Kankara Formula' to take control over the power residing inside the meteorite. There was a possibility that Naruto's power created the giant meteorite using earth magic. Unfortunately the possibility of Naruto just teleporting it from somewhere was higher. It meant the formula wouldn't give the result he wanted if he was wrong. So he had to scrap the idea.

Next, he thought of using his pure raw demonic power to slam it against the meteorite. It wasn't one of the smart moves but he thought it might be enough. But then his calculations showed that there was a high risk of the meteorite to explode if it collided with such highly dense magic. The casualties would be _slightly_ lower in that approach, meaning it was a no-go as well.

His last option wasn't as crude as his second one but it had the best chance.

And it took one full second for him to come up with all these ideas; half a second actually since the other half he took to compose himself. It wouldn't have taken this long but seeing his best friend disappearing shook him up more than he thought.

Ajuka created thousands of strong but intermediate level shield spells. He organized them in layers and created a pseudo pillar and made sure that it was directly below the center point of the meteorite.

"Wait for it," Ajuka told Grayfia who was getting ready to create ice pillars to support Ajuka.

Every devil held their breath as they saw the pseudo shield pillar colliding with the meteorite. Of course, the moment they saw the meteorite first, they tried to teleport away but were unable to. And by the time they decided that they were either gonna fly away from the stadium, it was already too close.

Technically the shield pillar he made shouldn't be able to withstand such massive attack. But here was his trick. The moment one of the shields was getting crushed he was creating a new one in its place. And in order to increase his speed at recreating the shields, he chose those which were of intermediate levels. In the end, the rate of the shields being created was a lot faster than them being destroyed. So the structure of the pillar remained the same. But the pillar as a whole was being pushed back. He wasn't worried since he knew that his power was enough and his calculation was right. He just had to hold on.

Like that, he finally stopped the meteorite.

Ajuka knew that maximum of five minutes had passed, maybe even less. But to him, and for rest of the devils, it felt like hours. But he knew that it was very unstable and the meteorite could fall on any side; so he wanted to order Grayfia to create some ice pillars to give support from the sides.

But before the words could leave his mouth, to his surprise, and to the horror of the masses, the meteorite started going upward.

And then he appeared, slightly beneath the gigantic rock.

The whole stadium went quiet once again.

The scene that greeted Ajuka, he would never forget it.

Sirzechs was the very first to go beyond the boundaries of normal devil ranks, far exceeding even those of the Four Original Satan. He was the strongest super devil, and the first devil to reach top ten strongest being. His true form was so terrifying and powerful that some of the very dominant beings called him 'The True Monster'.

And now, the mighty Sirzechs Lucifer was unconscious, bloody and was missing an arm. The worst part … he was being held by his hair, by Naruto who looked _slightly_ worn out.

The first one to react was Grayfia, who screamed and rushed toward Naruto. The youkai threw Sirzechs, as if he was a trash bag, toward Grayfia who stopped in midair and caught her husband.

Ajuka was seeing red. He knew that his _true form_ was coming out. But he also knew that he would be playing right into the enemy's hand. His left hand gripped his right one to stop it from shaking, the grip was so strong that his hand went numb. He bit his lips hard, drawing blood. The pain … it felt good. The pain gave him clarity.

Naruto then raised his index finger,

"I will give you one week, no more, no less. If you do not follow the agreement to the letter, it will get much worse. Believe it."

Then he disappeared, along with the huge meteorite.

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **Yes it is short, but this is just a prologue. Hopefully the second chapter will be longer.**

 **So how is it different from my usual type of stories? Well, Naruto here is god-like from the start. He is not strongest but he is quite high up on the ladder. Usually I will make Naruto strong and overtime he will become stronger. But not on this one. I mean he is the second or third strongest being in the DXD universe, right from the bat.**

 **Of course, he is training to top Ophis and Great Red to be the best.**

 **By the way, I didn't get much info on Ajuka's power so I winged it.**

 **So, there you go. Hope you all liked this new story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Your calls have been answered!**

 **.**

 **.**

 **That felt good. But seriously guys, wow! Honestly, I didn't think that this story will be SO appreciated. Thank you for that …**

 **No seriously, thanks everyone, seeing so many likes and reading those comments felt awesome.**

 **And just like my other stories, the author's note is at the end. Read it, lots of questions are usually answered there.**

 **Now here's chapter 02, dive right in.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **A New Faction**

 **II**

" _You suck at this, don't you?"_

 _Amaterasu sighed, it was harder than she thought. The person in front of her had the aura of a savior … and his power? She had never seen any human to possess such tremendous amount of power; he was easily a lot stronger than her. But his personality was far from what she had imagined._

" _I mean no disrespect, but right now I am supposed to be heading toward the afterlife, y'know. I am supposed to reunite with my friends, my parents, my brother," His facial features softened, "my wife."_

 _Then he looked at her, and although he was smiling Amaterasu could see that the smile didn't reach his eyes, "You are asking me to throw away everything and come to your dimension. Although I understand your distress, I have no reason to make such a sacrifice."_

 _Amaterasu wanted to rub her forehead. She knew how ridiculous her plea sounded but she was out of options. The recent civil war of the devil factions didn't have much effect on other large factions. Unfortunately, she couldn't say the same about 'The Youkai Faction'. But the old youkai leader who was in his deathbed had a 'Divine Revelation'; the vision was that 'A Hero from Far away' could save them, both 'The Youkai Faction' and 'The Shinto Faction'._

" _You're right, I am not good at this." Amaterasu decided to come out clean. There was no reason to play the word game with the person who she was seeking help from. And from the looks of it, it seemed that he wasn't expecting this kind of answer. Regardless she continued, "I am not going to repeat how bad our situation is. But I will tell you straight out what we can do for you, and what you can achieve in our dimension."_

" _First," She raised her index finger, "When you reincarnate, I will make sure you receive the treatment of a king and powerful blessings from us right from the start. I know that you're not the type of person who cares about this, but I do not want you to go through sufferings and losses at early stages of your life. You already have faced them enough in your dimension, and it helped to build your character. I just want you to help us and our people with that charisma of yours."_

 _He didn't say anything so she continued, "Second is that I will try my best so that few of your precious ones can get reborn in our dimension." That was the first time she saw him getting outright surprised, "But I will tell you this upfront. I may only be able to get two, max three people to reborn in our dimension."_

 _Amaterasu raised her ring finger, "Last but not least, the opportunities in our dimension are endless. This is fully up to you, but if you can become strong enough then you can jump through all the dimensions and come here to meet your friends and families. But once again, I have no hand in this, it's all on you."_

 _He was quiet. Occasionally, he would scratch his chin. Amaterasu was fine with this since it showed that at least he was thinking about the offer._

 _Finally, he spoke, "You are quite generous with your offers."_

" _Considering both of our circumstances, this is the least I can do." Amaterasu chuckled._

" _Fine, you got my attention. But I want to confirm few things before giving my final decision." His voice was neutral._

" _Of course," Amaterasu nodded at that._

" _First is that you used the term 'Reincarnate' for me but 'Rebirth' for my close ones. May I know if there is any difference?"_

 _It seemed that he was far sharper and smarter than she thought. With a smile, she answered, "Reincarnate means that you will be born with all the memories from this life intact. In simpler term, reincarnation means that your soul will just change bodies. You will have all of your knowledge, memories, and skills; everything spiritual. And in 'Rebirth', even the soul will reborn again. In a way, it is a whole new start."_

 _Seeing him raising an eyebrow, Amaterasu decided to explain it a bit further knowing what bothered him, "Best if I say through an example. Let's say your wife went through 'Rebirth'. She will still be the same kind and gentle person. But depending on how she will be brought up, she may become slightly mischievous … maybe even a bit adventurous."_

 _His both eyebrow shot up._

" _And she might become more endowed than her previous self."_

 _He frowned now, but his lips kept twitching, "Now that's bullshit. Except for Tsunade-baa-chan, no one came close to Hinata in terms of assets."_

 _Amaterasu openly laughed, "You will see for yourself if I am right or wrong. I wish I could also reincarnate them, but I do not have that much power to spare. But like you, if she becomes strong enough, she will regain back her previous memories. And like I said before, in these kinds of circumstances it is all up to the individual."_

 _He shook his head slightly, for what reason she didn't know, "That's … That's nice to know." Then he relaxed once again, "Also you said that I will be given royalty treatment. I am not the type who bothers about these, but I do appreciate your concern. What I want to know is that how much will I be monitored?"_

 _Amaterasu expected the question but not in this manner. It seemed he was covering all the delicate parts through a blunt approach._

" _You will not be monitored at all. I, and other major Shinto gods and goddesses, will ask you to perform some tasks. And at the end we will just see the result, not the process." Amaterasu answered truthfully._

 _Seeing the doubtful look, Amaterasu elaborated, "If we ask you to protect our people, we do not care how you do it as long as you get the job done. You can slaughter all the enemies, you can strengthen the defenses, or you can use your charm to make the enemies join you; at the end it is all up to you."_

" _Awesome," He nodded his head. Suddenly he stopped and looked straight at her, "What if I_ _ **don't**_ _like certain tasks?"_

 _This, she was expecting, "Instead of outright telling 'No' to our face, I would appreciate if you are_ _ **diplomatic**_ _about it. And just to be clear, you are our 'Partner' not 'Servant'."_

" _Noted," He replied back with a wide grin._

" _Anything else?" Amaterasu asked._

" _Two questions," He immediately reacted, "First is, you indicated that I can become as strong as you, a goddess. Just how powerful I can be?"_

" _Honestly, I don't know." Amaterasu shrugged, "You are already stronger than me. And I can say for certain that you will only grow stronger. You may even become powerful enough to wipe out the entire world with a snap of your finger. Unlike here, there is no limitation there."_

" _Whoa~ That was not what I had in my mind." He actually faltered at the answer._

" _That's why I approached you. Someone who would, not for a single moment, go astray no matter how much powerful they become. Unlike that brother of yours." Amaterasu snorted at the end._

" _Hey, Sasuke is a good guy, he just had a very rough childhood." He defended his friend just as she expected._

 _Seeing her blank stare, he grumbled, "Fine, let's just change the topic. So my final question is how will you reincarnate me?"_

 _Another question she expected beforehand. So the answer came quickly, "If you agree, then I will take your soul to our dimension. There I will see which youkai body has the best compatibility with your soul. After some modification, I will insert your soul into the body. It will take some time, maybe months, for your soul to properly adjust to the new body. After that is done, you will wake up in your new body."_

" _Youkai? Not human?" He asked._

 _Amaterasu was glad that he didn't take it that badly, "Unfortunately there are some complications that will make it risky for me to insert your soul into a real human body. The fault is not from our side, mind you. But on the bright side, as a youkai, you can easily live up to hundreds of years."_

" _That's … good to know," He nodded his head slightly, "And what about this body modification?"_

" _Ah~ That one?" Amaterasu grinned, "I was thinking of taking a DNA or two from this dimension. Then combine those with the youkai body to create the perfect vessel for you."_

 _His fox-like grin stretched from ear to ear, something which she took it as a positive sign._

" _So? Do we have a deal?" Amaterasu asked, her tone was slightly delighted. She couldn't help it. He didn't answer for some time, and also refrained from making eye-contact. She knew he was thinking but the silence was too intense for her._

 _Finally, he looked at her._

 _He made a fist with one hand and the held it in front of her._

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

This was one of the reasons why Ajuka didn't want to take 'The Lucifer' title.

Currently, he along with the remaining two Satans were listening to the bickering of the clan heads. The underworld council state was magically enlarged to accommodate all the devils, since all the heads of the still existing thirty three clans decided to come. The last time Ajuka remembered the council hall to be used like this was around a hundred year ago, maybe more. It was to introduce and discuss about 'The Evil Pieces'.

He leaned back in his chair and watched as Serafall and Falbium were trying desperately to calm down the clan heads. From time to time some rude comments were thrown at them but they just took them calmly. Usually, Serafall would have retorted back and Falbium wouldn't even care, but Ajuka guessed that they were feeling guilty for not being at the Stadium today. But he knew. He knew that it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

"Ajuka! You should gather a small platoon of strong devils and raid Kyoto!"

Ajuka blinked. He turned to look at the devil who addressed him.

"Lord Agares, are you talking to me?" He made sure that his tone hinted that the old devil was going out of his line. But it seemed that his hint hadn't gotten through.

"Are you even listening to us?!"

This time Lord Barbatos shouted. It wasn't just him, most of the Lords were quite furious with the situation. And who wouldn't be? A single youkai came out of nowhere and destroyed their factional power standing in mere minutes. And through some twisted logic, the devil clan heads were putting all the blame of this disaster on the young Satans.

Ajuka's lips twitched, just for a brief moment. Then he let out his power. This wasn't the first time a Maou would release their power to take back the control of the council. But there was a slight difference this time. Unlike Sirzechs or other Maou, Ajuka didn't filter his power at all. After all, he was in no mood to play the politics game. The hall immediately became deathly quiet.

"Are you sure that it is a good idea to take that kind of tone with _me_ , a _Satan_?" Ajuka let out a humorless chuckle, "According to the law, which all of you agreed on by the way, if Sirzechs is incapacitated in any way I have to take over the lead. And trust me when I say that I will handle things differently from Sirzechs." Then his gaze went over all the heads, most of whom were having hard time breathing. Serafall and Falbium were fine, somewhat, but they were surprised mostly.

"Lord Beelzebub, I think this is enough."

Ajuka gave a sideway glance to Zekram Bael. He was also one of the very few who weren't affected too much by his power. But he could still see the sweats glistering on the old Bael's forehead.

The tone sounded humble, but Ajuka knew it had power behind it. Not like theirs, pure raw power, the old Bael's power came from his wisdom and shrewdness. Regardless, Ajuka backed down. The situation was already a huge pile of clusterfuck, no need to add any more extra weight to it.

Ajuka waited for everyone to compose themselves. It took a minute or two for everyone to get back on their feet, figuratively speaking. But no one started any more commotion. Receiving a nod of acknowledgment form his fellow Satans, he started, "Now that I have your undivided attention. I would like to discuss one fact before going to the main point." He discarded the murmurs of disagreement and continued, "We had an agreement with the Youkai faction, five years ago. I wasn't there at that time but today I went over the papers. It is a solid contract, with us having a bit more advantages. I think it was done willingly and with good intention. And what did we do with that good intention?"

"We all agree that 'The Nekoshou Incident' was a blunder on our part. But this is not the time to point fingers," Zekram stood up for the devils once again.

Ajuka sighed and looked at Zekram, straight in the eyes, "Unfortunately I have to strongly disagree on that, Lord Zekram Bael," Not waiting for his retort, Ajuka turned away, "I know all of you are angry, but not more so than me and Lord Gremory. After all, because of the sheer stupidity of some devils, my best friend, his eldest, is now in coma."

"So you want us to apologize?" Zekram asked. His voice didn't have a prideful tone rather a subtle challenging one. After all, it was an impossible task, even for the Satans, to ask of that from the general devil populace.

It started as a small chuckle but soon turned into a full-blown laughter. Ajuka couldn't help it. He knew he was scaring the shit out of all the clan heads but it was just so ridiculous … the ignorance. When he got his laughter under control, he looked at all the Lords. It was subtle, but most of the clan heads had a wary expression. He stood up and everyone flinched.

"It seems not a single of you understands that true depth of the situation. Although in the 'Contract' we were given some leeway, it was stated there, _over_ and _over_ again, that not a single Nekoshou should be harmed or face injustice. If _one_ Nekoshou becomes a victim and we are unable to carry out proper judgment, the Youkai faction will take back the whole clan." Then Ajuka turned to Zekram, "You have seen him today, talked to him, saw what he did. Do you really think that he wants an _apology_ after what the devils did?"

If Ajuka wasn't looking at Zekram intently, he would have missed the old Bael's surprised look. But it came and went so fast that he was sure no one else saw it.

"What do they want then?" Lord Gremory spoke up. He was the quietest amongst the clan heads today. It was understandable. Since this was the first time Lord Gremory had seen his son like this, not even in the civil war did Sirzechs ever lost this badly.

"Like I stated before, I am quite furious. I want to go to Kyoto and kill that bastard for what he did to my friend who had nothing to do with this incident … consequences be damned." Ajuka's gaze sharpened and his body trembled for a moment as he remembered that scene once again.

"But it's not that simple, is it?"

It seemed that Zekram was finally starting to see how bad the situation was. But still, to Ajuka, the old Bael barely uncovered the surface.

"With all the information I have so far, I was able to come up with five hundred and seventy two different scenarios. In two thirds of those scenarios, this incident blows out of proportion and turns into a full-scale war. And at best, the final outcome of this conflict is, from all those scenarios regardless if it turns to war not, both factions come to a tie; with minimum losses on both sides." Ajuka stopped just for a second. It wasn't for a dramatic reason. He stopped because even he knew how ridiculous it sounded when the words came to his mind. But that was the cruel truth.

With a heavy sigh, Ajuka finished, "And at worst, we, the devil faction, will face extinction."

It took few seconds for the words to sink in. And when the clan heads finally came out from their stupor, the whole hall erupted in chaos.

Ajuka thought of using his previous method of taking back the control. But one devil beat him to it.

Zekram only stood up and most of the devils quieted down, not fully as they were murmuring among themselves. But this alone shows how much authority and respect he possessed. He didn't turn to face other Lords, just looked at Ajuka wearily, "As much as I would love to call it a _bullshit,_ I know just how good you are at predicting future events. So, can you tell us how and why do you think that these youkai can win against us?"

Politics and convincing devils weren't Ajuka's forte. But explaining was. So he was glad that Zekram was controlling and steering the crowd in a way where it would be easier for him to do so. Ajuka, started, all the while rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Seeing that this Naruto has defeated Sirzechs, we can clearly say that powerful individual wise, youkai faction gets the first point."

Quite a few Lords wanted to argue but one look for Ajuka and Zekram, combined, stopped them.

"I know what you are going to say. It was a fluke, a trap at best. But let me remind you that Sirzechs isn't a novice fighter. He is 'The Lucifer'. He _earned_ that title after defeating the descendants of the original Satans. He wouldn't fall for something cheap, and not like that. So, if this youkai defeated Sirzechs purely based on traps, then he is far better than me and Falbium combined, as a strategist. And if he has defeated him fair and square then he may be someone who reached 'The Top Ten', very recently presumably. Unfortunately the one who can tell about him the best is Sirzechs. So till he wakes up, all I can do is to make assumptions."

The moment Ajuka was done, he immediately raised his hand to stop the protests from arising. He released a long breath and continued soon after, "Now all of you are going to argue about that it is just a single individual. You would say that I along with Serafall and Falbium can take him out, maybe we can. But there are several problems there. First is that we do not know if youkai faction has any more strong individuals. The only other powerful youkai that we know of is Yasaka, who may be able to go toe to toe with Falbium or Serafall if she directly takes power from leyline. Do they have any more individuals? That we do not know. Second is that this Naruto has delivered the first blow, swiftly and strategically, which put us in a really bad position. If we, even a single Satan, go out in the human world and pick a fight, it will surely put the whole devil faction on the spotlight; and not in a good way."

Ajuka stopped to take another break. He was glad to see that a lot of the Lords had a thinking face. But some fully understood where he was going as their face had gone pale. Taking another deep breath, he went on, "Lastly would be 'The Youkai Faction' as a whole. From what we know, ten years ago Yasaka married this Naruto out of the blue. Then the youkai faction went through some changes. We thought that it was just some subtle changes but the clues were there. It became very hard for the devils to locate any youkai villages or clans. Even the few clans that were here in the underworld moved away. So, if I am not wrong then Naruto has united all the youkai clans, regardless of their sizes and locations. And it is safe to assume that, by now, he also created a strong military to serve him. Some of you might argue that their military is no match against ours in terms of pure number and power. But let me remind all of you why 'The Nekoshou Incident' started in the first place. Some of the youkai clans had techniques that far surpass ours. So if Naruto militarized these clans, our soldiers will have a hard time against them."

By the time he was finished the hall became very quiet. Some pictured the full scenario and became nervous, and some were still processing the idea that there was a chance that the devils would lose against youkai faction; a faction which they thought was small and insignificant.

"Won't it be better if we strike first, like a covert operation? I mean we do know that they are in Kyoto, right?" Lord Phenex stated.

"Do we?" Ajuka let out a tired chuckle, "If you didn't notice in the contract they stated themselves as 'The Youkai Faction' as opposed to 'The Kyoto Youkai Faction' like before. There is no concrete proof but I am sure Naruto had moved their main base."

"How can you be sure?" Lord Sitri asked.

"Because I would have done it."

Silence reigned once again. Few minutes passed but no one uttered any words, even Serafall and Falibium became speechless.

Finally Zekram spoke up.

"So what do you suggest we do?"

Ajuka didn't answer immediately. He just maintained the eye contact with Zekram for few seconds. Then he looked up and let out a heavy sigh,

"We prepare for war but hope that it doesn't come to it."

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

"Naruto."

"Lord Naruto."

"Naruto-koi."

The gentle touch on his shoulder broke him from his trance. Naruto looked around to see the concerned faces staring back at him. With a sigh, he lightly tapped the hand on his shoulder, "Are those two girls fine?"

She smiled, "They are fine. The little one may need some therapies but they will be getting back on their feet in no time." Naruto knew that he had asked this same question more than ten times already. And each time she would answer it in full and in a tender tone, without a slight hint of any irritation.

"That's good."

"Lord Naruto," He turned toward the voice, "This is a dark time for us. And we need you more than anything. So, please, do not blame yourselves for what happened to the Nekoshou clan."

"August, even if you say that, the fact remains that I have to shoulder those deaths. I should have tried harder to bring them back instead of making that agreement." Naruto leaned on his chair. Yasaka's gentle touch on his hair was helping more than he thought. He knew he should ask her to take her seat in this formal meeting rather than staying beside him and babysit him. But he badly needed this, and everyone in the room knew it.

"You gave the devils a chance. You wanted to see the best of them." August added quietly.

"And the Nekoshou clan paid the price," Naruto replied back, he couldn't help but let out a mocking smile, "They paid the price with their lives because of my naivety."

"It's not your naivety," Her voice calmed him down once again, "This is who you are. You always look for the best in people. You always see beyond their races and labels." He wanted to argue but she put a finger on his lips, and continued with a gentle smile, "And because of that, because of you, this is where we are ... a miracle even by Gods' standard." When Naruto looked down, she used the same finger to lightly bring his gaze back up again, "I know that this is a tragedy. A tragedy that none of us wanted to happen. But it did happen. If you want to make up for it, then give the Nekoshou clan the justice they deserve, in your own way. Make sure that those two girls will smile for the rest of their lives. I know you can and will do it. And regardless of the final outcome of this incident, I know you will become a better man; just like always."

He and Yasaka held their gazes for some time. Finally Naruto broke their eye contact by closing his. He really wanted to hug his wife now. He really wanted to bask in her presence, take shelter in her aura; but now it wasn't the time. With that in mind, he turned to the last person, "Jiraiya, how far is it?"

"By tonight, every supernatural faction will know the truth about 'The Nekoshou Incident'." The answer was swift and to the point, just like Jiraiya; when he was being professional was what Naruto thought in amusement.

No one spoke for some time as everyone was waiting for him. Naruto understood that, but he also knew that from now on, his actions would drastically change the course of history once again.

"Mobilize the 'Anbu', and call back all the 'Biju'."

His words shocked everyone, even Yasaka.

"Naruto," The first one to compose was Jiraiya, as always, "Exactly what are you planning to do?"

"Jiraiya, they didn't massacre the Nekoshou clan. They killed the children, raped the young and tortured the old," The moment those words left his mouth all of the listeners' power burst out. If this room wasn't specially modified, the whole city would be shaking by now, literally. Naruto raised his arm and released his own power to overlap theirs, to forcefully calm them down. After all, even with all the enchantments, the room had its limits. When everyone calmed down, he began, "I am not a murderer. And I refused to stoop to their level. But I promise you this, I will _cripple_ their faction. I will do whatever it takes to make sure the devil faction gets what they truly deserve, not a _penny_ less."

Everyone nodded in acknowledgment. And then Yasaka asked, "My love, you know that this will bring our faction to the spotlight, right?"

"Lady Yasaka, as much as we would have liked it to be under favorable circumstances, we cannot let this pass, consequences be damned." August spoke up, his tone clearly showed how angry he was.

"Unfortunately, August is right. But if we can do this correctly, then our faction will be seen as a humble one rather than a dangerous one," Jiraiya added. Then he scratched his chin and looked at Naruto, "I will ask Xuan Zang to stop his expedition and return. We will need his input in this. I will also notify all the 'Biju'. Knowing the situation, I am sure they will be here by midnight."

Naruto just nodded back but didn't say anything. August and Jiraiya got the cue and got up. With a polite bow, they excused themselves.

The moment the door was closed, Naruto pulled Yasaka who fell on his lap. And without a word, he buried his face in her chest which caused Yasaka to let out a subdued moan. From an outsider's perspective, it would seem as a very intimate moment between two lovers; but it wasn't. Naruto was directly absorbing his wife's divine energy. It was similar to that of vampires drinking blood. And the reason was Senjutsu. In this dimension, Senjutsu would take in the malice and ill will that would float around the world. It was quite bogus if he was being honest, but there was nothing he could do about it. Usually it wouldn't affect him at all unless he personally would focus on it. So, when he went to the underworld and focused on the malice around the Nekoshou clan to see what had happened, it was too much … the hatred, the agony, the cries for help, so many strong negative emotions that he was overwhelmed. He literally saw what happened there. And the fact that that he couldn't do anything but to watch, shattered his heart. He wanted to save them, he wanted to revive them. But there was nothing left to revive. And their souls were so twisted that it was better to properly send them off. But purifying so many corrupted and hateful spirits took its toll on his _own_ mind. So he needed to cleanse it, something which he could do himself in few hours. But he wanted those screams to _stop_. So he took the shortcut. It was to drink his wife's special divine energy directly and let it heal his own mind and powers. It sounded very lewd, even the act was itself looked perverted. But he didn't give a damn at this moment.

He was hundred percent sure that if it was Sasuke, unlike him, he would have _annihilated_ half of the devil population regardless of the consequences. For a brief moment, the thought did cross his mind. But he wasn't like that. Of course, crushing Sirzechs helped a lot.

To be honest, Naruto didn't have it planned out at all. He wanted to confront the devils directly and depending on the outcome he would have taken the next step. He really didn't think Sirzechs and others would react like that. So he took Sirzechs to his pocket dimension to have a talk with him, all the while making sure other devils would stay busy. Unfortunately, the red Maou screwed up … badly. The fault lied with him as well but the moment Sirzechs uttered those words, Naruto lost it at that. He became so angry that he didn't think about the consequences, he didn't think about the difference of their power level. He didn't think at all, he just lashed out with everything he had. He was glad that Sirzechs activated his true form right at the start of the fight, otherwise he would have delivered a corpse rather than a battered comatose body.

He screwed up in the fight, and he knew it. Some would say that it wasn't his fault. After all, who would believe that the almighty Sirzechs in his true monstrous form couldn't even survive one minute. Naruto really underestimated his own power. But regardless, he wasn't frustrated because of what he did to Sirzechs, not after what his faction did to the Nekoshou. He was just frustrated at himself.

"Naruto-koi~"

Naruto blinked. In an instant, the haze was gone. And he couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.

He didn't know how or when, but he had ripped the part of his wife's outfit that was covering her chest. He could see that he was sucking so intensely that she now had quite a few glaring bruises on top of her breasts. And that was not all, while his right hand and mouth were busy with her chest, his left hand snaked its way in to her cloths and was groping her rear. And the last blow was that little Naruto was up and ready to go into action.

This … was not how it was supposed to go.

Yasaka chuckled. Naruto thought that maybe because of the horrified look he had on his face. She gently removed his arms and sat on his lap properly. Her clothes got fixed on their own. She smiled and started caressing his face, "It's alright, my love. I know that you need comfort right now, more than anything. But you have to report to Lady Amaterasu about this first."

Naruto nodded, and straightaway, he took control of his raging emotions, "I will go meet her now." He paused and then looked at her, "How's Kunou?"

"She is fine Naruto, you just didn't see her for one day," Before Naruto could retort, Yasaka put a finger on his lips, "I know that you will feel guilty if you see her now. She will remind you of all the innocent children you couldn't save." Naruto looked away at that statement. His wife really knew him well, "I will clean up your schedule for a few hours. After the meeting with Lady Amaterasu is done, come to me. I will relieve you from all those memories."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgment.

Giving his forehead a kiss, she got up from him. With a sigh, he gave her a tired smile and she returned a gentle one. Naruto also got up and took some distance from Yasaka. He cut his index finger using the nail from his thumb. And as a single drop of blood came out, Naruto's hand blurred as he created a complex magic symbol. When he was done, he put his palm on top of the circle and just waited. After a moment, everything changed in an instant.

"Quite a mess, isn't it?"

"It is," Naruto answered after he made a polite bow toward the goddess. Instead of taking the seat directly, he looked around and once again his eyes fell onto the table beside them. The table had multiple stacks of papers and all of them were being arranged and signed on their own. It was as if an invisible person was doing the job; not a ghost, an invisible person. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Back in his home dimension, all the Kage would wage wars to get that technique.

Then he turned to Amaterasu who pointed at the seat in front of her. Naruto flopped down on the chair with a groan, "You know why I came here, right?"

Amaterasu waved her hand and the spacious room glowed. After she was done, Naruto gave her the look who understood the meaning and nodded her head in response. He looked to the side, and on the mirror he clearly saw the change in his eyes. Like his previous life, he had a unique shade of irises, sliver-purple. When he would activate the Rinnegan, the silver-purple would cover the whole sclera; and from the middle of his pupil the black rings would spread out. Now, he wasn't a narcissistic person, but damn did it look cool.

When the transformation was over, he looked over her room to make sure it was tight and secure. When he saw it was, he nodded at Amaterasu.

"I know why you are here," Amaterasu sighed. She paused for a moment before starting, "All the Shinto Gods and Goddesses truly feel sorry for what happened to the Nekoshou clan. But they are not sure if it is the right time to come out."

Naruto understood what the problem was but he wanted to hear directly from her. And it seemed she got the cue, "The Shinto faction was never anywhere near the top, be it power or authority wise. But now that we came so far because of you, everyone is scared of losing you."

"You think I will lose?" Naruto arched an eyebrow.

"Against the devil faction, no. But what if the whole Biblical faction or Trimurti from Hindu faction start to aim for you? You have seen how greedy and crafty those two factions are." Amaterasu explained.

"I am not sure about the Hindu faction as a whole but I know for a fact that the Trimurti will not come after me. As for the Biblical faction," Then Naruto gave his trademark fox-like grin, "I don't think they will come after us immediately. Not after seeing our faction's spectacular appearance."

"Oh~" Amaterasu leaned onto her chair, "Another of your miracles?"

Naruto chuckled openly at that.

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

"Do you think it's true?"

Azazel looked up from the note to meet Tobio's gaze. The boy was confused and angry. He couldn't blame him, any normal person would be. With a sigh, the fallen governor pointed at the seat in front of him with his head. While Tobio was sitting down, he created a small fire on top of his palm and burned the note.

"So?"

"Yes, it's true. The massacre did happen yesterday."

Tobio clenched his fists when he heard Azazel's answer. His eyes were shadowed by his black hair, his voice trembled, "I thought they were _different_ from the old devils."

"The current four Satan are young. They do not have full control over the general devil populace contrary to everyone else's believes." Azazel's voice was tired.

"That's a shitty excuse!" Tobio barked, "One or two Nekoshou is one thing, but the whole clan? No matter the consequences the Satans should have intervened."

"Yes, they should have. And now they are paying the price for it … dearly."

Tobio blinked. Then he frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

Azazel didn't answer immediately. He took the 'Hellblazer' bottle from the table between them and refilled his wine glass. As he put the bottle back down, he looked at Tobio, "Do you want some? This is going to take a while."

"I am fine," Tobio immediately rejected, "Also right now I do not feel like touching anything that belongs to the underworld."

"Suit yourself, we might not be getting this for some time," Azazel gave a dry chuckle.

"Azazel," The fallen governor knew Tobio wasn't the impatient type. But this was one of those very rare cases.

"I received a letter from Serafall. The youkai king made a spectacular entrance and had put Sirzechs in a coma."

He gave a hearty laugh when he saw Tobio physically retreating back at his words. He couldn't blame the boy, even he had almost the same reaction.

"Sirzechs Lucifer was put into a coma?!" Tobio's tone was that of disbelief.

"Yup. According to Serafall, he was kidnapped right under their nose, and five minutes later his bloody unconscious body was returned. She didn't say how badly he was injured, just that his condition is now stabilized but he is still in coma." Azazel paused to take a small sip from his glass. He savored the taste for a moment before adding the last part, "And all of this was done by one person."

Tobio didn't say anything back for a minute or two. Azazel understood that he was processing the thought that one of the strongest amongst 'The Three Factions' was defeated so easily, who also made his way to 'The Top Ten'.

"Wait doesn't it mean that the youkai faction has someone who is amongst 'The Top Ten'?" Azazel smirked at Tobio's assumption. And he knew that his protégé was almost there.

Tobio let out a small breath when he saw the grin on Azazel, "This is not going to end well, is it?"

"My boy, 'The Nekoshou Incident' will be the catalyst for a new change in the supernatural world. And it is going to be a drastic change, I can guarantee you that." Azazel took another sip, his eyes gleamed with amusement. He knew that Tobio would understand the meaning behind his tone and gaze.

"So what am I missing?"

Azazel chuckled. Now only if Tobio was interested in women's body, then he would have made the perfect protégé. But that thought was for later. Now he had a history lesson to give, "What do you know about Naruto?"

"Not much, all anyone knows about him is that out of nowhere he married Yasaka ten years ago."

His answer made Azazel's mood to go sour, which in turn made Tobio to groan, "Come on now, don't get sidetracked."

"You wouldn't understand, she was my second love." Azazel pouted.

"It was lust not love." Tobio corrected, it sounded more like an automated response.

"Hmph!" Azazel gave a loud snort, "You haven't seen her, alright! She is the _only_ woman, besides Gabriel, who has a perfect body, a full ten out of ten. And I have seen a lot of women. She even has that thing, you know," Azazel grumbled as he clenched his fist, "A gentle aura with a fucking killer body. That combination is the kryptonite for any male, I tell you."

"You are just frustrated that someone got her." Tobio sighed.

"I should have tried harder! I thought she was an unobtainable flower like Gabriel." Azazel released a deep breath, his shoulder slouched down so much that he looked like a deflated balloon.

"You done?"

The fallen governor gave a flat stare to his pupil. With a grumble, he chugged down the rest of the wine and refilled again.

"I wanted to bash her husband's head so badly. But the only reason I didn't do it because I know he would be the one bashing me." Azazel gave an embarrassed chuckle, and seeing the frown on Tobio's face he shook his head, "No, I knew he was stronger than me but I didn't know he was this strong."

"How did you know he was stronger?"

Azazel didn't answer. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he was trying to see how he should start.

"Do you remember August Alvarez?" Azazel asked all of a sudden.

"Yes," Tobio answered, confused, "He is the leader of 'The Faerie Faction', right?"

"Words have it that he was seen during Yasaka's wedding, as one of the important guests no less."

"I thought that the wedding ceremony was a very private affair."

Azazel sighed. The boy was right. The Shinto faction was very tight-lipped regarding Yasaka's marriage. No one knew exactly where and when the ceremony took place. It was done in such a fashion to avoid unnecessary commotions. Because Azazel wasn't the only one who was smitten by the shrine maiden, there were quite a few from different factions who wanted the gentle youkai, some of them were quite powerful and dangerous.

With a sigh, Azazel tilted his wine glass toward the boy, "Tobio, this is just an assumption," A really mind breaking one if he was being honest, "But from the all the clues I gathered, I think 'The Faerie Faction' and 'The Youkai Faction' merged together."

"What?!" The shock was so much that Tobio stood up, his eyes bulged out, "Are you serious?" Azazel just nodded. Tobio just stood there with his mouth open for few seconds. Finally, he sat down tiredly, "Won't this merging make this new faction as strong as one of the Gods factions?"

Azazel nodded to confirm Tobio's question. It wasn't a ridiculous notion. After all, right after 'The Three Factions' and all other mythological Gods factions, 'The Youkai Faction' and 'The Faerie Faction' were the top two factions, both in terms of power and size. 'The Vampire Faction' was also one of the top ones before the separation.

With a chuckle, Azazel added, "Also there was this rumor that the youkai king gave Tiamat a beating for insulting Yasaka."

"These are just rumors and assumptions, right?" Tobio asked.

He couldn't help but snort at that, such a naïve boy, "Brat, every rumor has some truth in it. And the assumptions, they are created based on the hints left behind by original events."

Tobio nodded. Azazel could see that the boy was processing everything. Usually, he was faster but this time there was just too many outrageous information.

Tobio let out a loud sigh, "Will this start another war?"

The jolly expression completely left from Azazel's face, "I won't lie to you. There is a chance. And it may escalate to the point that even the Grigori and the Heaven will have to join, unwillingly of course. But this depends fully on the Devil faction and the Youkai Faction."

"Shouldn't we try to stop it?" Tobio said, more like he pleaded.

Azazel shook his head, "Unfortunately, the youkai king already took few steps." Seeing the inquiry look, he asked, "The note that Sun Wukong gave stated that the news is spreading throughout the supernatural world, right?"

"Yes," Tobio firmly nodded, "He said that to me also. I believe that by tomorrow almost all the factions will know of 'The Nekoshou incident'."

"You do realize that the reason this news is spreading so fast is because of the youkai faction, right?" Tobio nodded at the questions, so Azazel asked another, "Also that 'The Nekoshou Incident' is being told from the perspective of the last two survivors, right?" Tobio nodded again. This time Azazel smiled as he asked the last question, "But did the youkai pointed out, in any way, that their king thrashed _the_ Sirzechs Lucifer? Hmm~"

Tobio blinked. The realization face he made after that only increased Azazel's amusement. Taking another sip of the wine, he added, his tone had a tint of admiration to it, "It's quite a crafty tactic, I must admit. Because if they added that then instead of focusing on 'The Nekoshou Incident', all the other factions will focus on the fact that there is someone new on 'The Top Ten'. The youkai don't want that, for now, they want everyone to know the truth about the massacre and focus on the devils. And using this opportunity, they are isolating the devil faction. I mean who would side with them if a war does break out. And the best part … the devils are playing right into their hands."

Tobio visibly shook at the last sentence. He frowned but didn't ask anything. With a chuckle, Azazel started elaborating, "The devils will not release the fact that Sirzechs was beaten. Even if they did, they will not admit that he was beaten fair and square. They will come up with excuses. Same for 'The Nekoshou Incident', they will try to come up with excuses. Lastly, they will send platoons, mostly to recon or just small skirmishes to gauge out their opponent. Even though this is the right way, but to other factions, it will only seem as the devils are using baseless excuses to go to another war."

A look of realization came to his pupil's face as he pointed out, "So when the Youkai faction strikes back hard, no one will side with the devil faction."

Azazel nodded, satisfied that Tobio was able to come to the right conclusion.

"So what are you going to do?" Azazel raised an eyebrow at the question, seeing which Tobio went on, "I am sure Serafall didn't send you a simple message regarding only Sirzechs's condition. She asked for your help, right?"

" _Ahh~ He is getting better,"_ Though he didn't say it out loud, Azazel let out another pleased smile, "Yes, she asked for my help. While I do like the current Satans, I am not going to put the Grigori into the crossfire for their incompetence. I will just say that the youkai faction has become strong, through hints mind you, so they should be careful. Also if they really want to come out clean, they should deliver capital punishments for those who took part in the massacre, regardless of their statuses."

Tobio once again just stayed silent and processed his words. And it seemed he had given too much to the boy for one night. His protégé stood up, gave a slight bow to him and walked toward the door. To others, it would seem like a sign of disrespect but Azazel didn't mind. He knew that the boy badly needed to get some fresh air. That's why he didn't stop him. He also knew when Tobio cooled down, he would come again.

Azazel took another sip of the famous wine. He looked at his half-empty glass and sighed,

"Too bad I am not going to get this anytime soon."

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **There you go.**

 **Now before I start about anything else, I want to point out again that as any other fanfic writer, I also want to improve. So, in this story, I will take the approach of 'Show, don't tell'. For those who don't know, it means i will not write the full description of how one looks or what other person is feeling directly, I will try to tell them through hints. I will try not to be overly vague, but let's see how this goes. And like I stated before I will try to write from a single perspective.**

 **Now,**

 **Romance!**

 **Well, here is the thing. I want to enjoy writing this story. So after reading few reviews, I realized something. I like harem but not that much, and I prefer writing normal relationship. So yah, no Harem. Naruto X Yasaka all the way.**

 **POWAHH**

 **First, Naruto and Highschool DXD are two very different types of series. So a lot of things, specially power scaling will not match.**

 **There will be action later on, so in order to have a good and proper fight, I will scale the DXD world as I see fit. DXD world is fully based on hypes, well what can you expect from an ecchi/harem anime. But I will balance it out to make sure it matches MY story.**

 **I am not belittling any series or anyone else's fiction. It's just my thought. So don't compare the power scaling of my fanfic to others please. If you have a theory, let's talk. I always enjoy a good discussion.**

 **Now I need to make the 'Top Ten' list again. Damn this is going to a pain in the ass. Also I may not follow the canon list and put some actual powerful being on the high tier of the list. But regardless of who is in the list, currently Naruto holds the 3** **rd** **position.**

 **Yes, he is not as strong as Great Red or Ophis yet, but he will be.**

 **Regarding the story,**

 **I will just clean up few things here so all of you are not overly confused.**

' **Biju' are not the tailed beast from Naruto world. This is a group, think of it like 'Espada' from Bleach. But the ranking is the other way around, meaning in 'Biju' 9** **th** **position holder is the strongest and the 1** **st** **is the weakest. I thought that this would make the story more exciting, so what do you think? By the way, except for the 9** **th** **spot, all are open, so do tell if you want to see anyone here, who knows I might add them.**

 **August Alvarez is a character I took from Fairy tail and the 'Faerie Faction' is something that I made up. You just have to wait and see to know more about this one. Just to be clear, I am not adding complete Fairy Tail or any other universe here. A few secondary characters from here and there and that's it.**

 **Tobio is a canon DXD character, he didn't show up in the anime yet since he makes his appearance very late in the Light Novel.**

 **Yah~ I think that covers most of the things I wanted to talk about.**

 **If there is anything else, you can always pm me.**

 **So, ciao~**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Third Chapter is here!**

 **Once again, I thank all of you for your overwhelming feedbacks.**

 **And you know the drill, the 'Author's Note' is at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **A New Faction**

 **III**

 _Amaterasu wanted to release a tired sigh. It shouldn't come as surprising seeing how quickly the situation went out of her hand. Not only the major Gods and Goddesses, but also all the deities of Shinto Religion wanted to meet Naruto. She couldn't blame them though. Although they had chosen or sent countless of Champions beforehand, none were powerful enough to match those of other religions'. But this time it was different. And even the lowest deity could see it, or in this case, sense it._

 _Naruto, even in his soul form, was almost as powerful as Amaterasu herself. And then there was his reputation of being the Savior of his previous world. His achievements and character awed everyone, but at the same time raised some concerns. Especially Susanoo, he asked some doubtful questions. But he had his points. After all, if Naruto was as strong as their leader in just his soul form, he would easily surpass her when he would get a body. If so, then what would stop him from going against them?_

 _She had answers ready for those kinds of questions but she liked how Naruto handled it, it had much more impact than her ready-made words._

" _Look, I sacrificed a lot by coming here to help you guys. If you have any doubts or problems, just send me back. I don't want to deal with harassments from the people I am helping, and I am sure, you don't want to constantly keep an eye on your own Champion."_

 _With that, he sat down … on the ground … and asked that if_ _ **anyone**_ _had problems with him or even think that he would create problems later, just come up to him and have a chat. He also pointed out that he wanted to know everyone, be it a major god or goddess or a low ranking deity. Needless to say, his popularity skyrocketed; and any doubts that anyone had about him were washed away. Even Susanoo grudgingly accepted him._

 _But what they didn't know that, even in his soul form, Naruto was a lot stronger than Amaterasu. But just to be on the safe side, she put a powerful sealing spell on him with his permission. And to show her good faith, she gave the full control of that spell to Naruto._

 _Now, she was heading toward where Naruto was resting, which was her private office room. Very few had access to that room but Naruto was a very special guest. As she was opening the door, Amaterasu hoped Naruto wasn't too tired with all the talks, which stretched to few days. But against all her expectation, she saw Naruto deeply focused on her working table. She didn't know why he was so fascinated with something so simple._

 _Naruto turned to her and gave her a silent bow, before retreating back to his chair._

" _Thank you for what you have done out there," Amaterasu stated before even sitting down, "You really wiped out all the doubts and proved your conviction to everyone."_

" _I just don't want my reincarnation to create any kinds of conflicts, at least not for you." Naruto shrugged his shoulders._

" _Ohoo~" Amaterasu raised an eyebrow delicately as she sat down._

" _Well, sometimes these small doubts can give birth to larger suspicions which can lead to fear and to conflicts. But the funny thing is, all of these can be avoided if everyone gets to know each other well, maybe over an informal meal or over some idle talks." Naruto explained, his face held a small smile._

" _Are you talking from experience?"_

 _Naruto didn't answer that, just chuckled all the while he brushed the back of his head. Amaterasu noticed that he usually would do that when he was embarrassed or would feel awkward._

" _And for that, once again, I thank you." Amaterasu gave a sincere smile as she spoke those words._

 _She paused for a few seconds before finally touching the topic, for which she asked Naruto to meet her privately, "I know you need your rest but I need to confirm these with you."_

 _With that, she gave a paper to Naruto._

" _Those who were marked as 'Legends' and 'Evils' in your world, I couldn't bring their souls nor could I touch their bodies. Other than them, rests were fine." Then she smiled, she wanted to look wise but she knew her smile showed a bit of wickedness. She couldn't help it though, "But I was still able to hassle out two more souls. So, in total, I got four souls, including you that is."_

 _Naruto's eyes snapped to meet Amaterasu, and a while later, his smile matched her, "I am not gonna ask how you did that, but thank you. And," Naruto slightly shifted in his chair, "I don't want to sound narcissist but I was marked as 'Legend', right? So how …"_

" _Well, for you," She released a deep breath, dramatically, "Let's just say, I had to go through a lot of hassles and keep it at that."_

 _From the look Naruto gave Amaterasu, she could see that he wanted to know, but she was glad that he dropped it for now. But she knew that later at some point he would ask her again without any intention of backing down._

 _Naruto looked down at the paper again. And just from his eyes, she could see what he was truly feeling as he read through the names of the souls she was able to bring. His feature turned very gentle one time, and next, he just gave a small chuckle. Another time his lips just curved upwards but at the end, his eyebrows shot up. He blinked few times then looked back at her._

" _I personally asked all those souls, written there, if they want to come over to this side to join you on your next adventure. I explicitly told them the costs of such choice. And yet, they all agreed." Amaterasu leaned back on her chair, smiling back at her emotional champion, "But do remember that after their rebirth, even though the soul will be the same, they will have different names, different personalities, and different looks. The chances of being the same like before, without a god's intervention, are less than one percent."_

 _She thought he would take some time to think it over. But his answer was instantaneous, "I will accept and love them all the same, no matter what. And I am sure they will do the same without any hesitation."_

 _Amaterasu nodded at those words, and give Naruto some time as he once again went over those names. Finally she started again, "And this contains all the information regarding your new body."_

 _With a small smile, Naruto gently put the paper that he was holding, to his side. Then he took the next one. But before even opening it, he looked at her, "Why didn't you bring my old body? I mean, I am appreciating what you are doing but wouldn't it be better if you just bring my old body here and do some magic voodoo on it or something?"_

 _Amaterasu laughed openly at that. It seemed that Naruto still didn't understand the concept of 'Magic'. But it was understandable, and it was her job to guide him as much as she could. But first, "I told you about how I traveled to your dimension, right?"_

" _Yah~," Naruto scratched his chin with his right hand, as his left was holding the new paper, "You found an artifact around three hundred years ago? After the 'Great War' between 'The Three Factions', right?"_

" _Yes," She nodded her head, "Not just us actually, I heard that other factions also found quite a few artifacts as well. I am not sure why but we think the balance of the world shifted somehow during or after that battle and resulted in the birth of these artifacts. But that is not the main point. The artifact we found allowed us to visit few other dimensions, spiritually; especially the dimensions that had a strong similarity to our culture or religion. And one of those dimensions was yours. Now, as I traveled there spiritually, I couldn't bring your body or anything worldly since my power was restricted depending on the dimension; I could just the souls."_

" _I see," Naruto nodded with a thoughtful look. Quickly, he composed himself and asked the next question, "Isn't there any way for you to travel physically? I mean to other dimensions?"_

 _She chuckled at the questions, of course she saw this coming, "I will give you the details later but for now let's just say to leave our dimension we have to pass through a gate. And the gatekeeper there is one of the three strongest beings in our dimensions. These_ _ **Three Beasts**_ _, as every gods and goddesses like to call them, are so strong that their names are not even on the 'Core Stone'."_

 _Naruto was listening to her words with fascination but suddenly he interrupted, which was very rare if she was being honest, "Core Stone?"_

" _Ahh~ That is a large stone situated at the core of the Earth which has the names of the 'Top Ten Strongest Beings in the World'. You can see it after every hundred years. Biblical God created it in order to maintain the peace between the Gods. I will talk about it later." Amaterasu explained._

 _Naruto hummed but didn't say anything. After a while he asked another question, "These_ _ **'Three Beasts'**_ _are the strongest here?"_

" _Yes, but like I said, we will have a thorough discussion about it later, along with the 'Top Ten Strongest Beings in the World'. But now I want you to look at the body I am preparing for you." Amaterasu pointed at the paper that Naruto was holding with her eyes._

 _Naruto blushed as he rubbed the back of his head again, and soon started going through the paper. She could see the questions forming but he didn't ask them immediately, rather he went through the full report. After he was done, he put down the paper. But instead of throwing the questions, he just looked at the paper with a thoughtful expression._

 _Finally the first question came, "Why 'Oni'?"_

" _You wanted me to reincarnate you using a 'Nine-Tails' body, right? But unfortunately there are some complications. You know that our dimension has many kinds of beings, right?" Seeing Naruto nodding at her question, Amaterasu leaned on her desk, "And each of the beings uses different kind power sources to use spells; for example, humans use mana while Gods use divinity, and it goes on like this. We have some here who uses chakra but, the concept and the power of chakra in your dimension varies from ours. Fret not, I can recreate the 'chakra' from your dimension by combining various power sources but the problem is the host. Then there are all the DNA you want to add. So, all in all, it turned out that a 'Kijin' type of 'Oni' is the best choice, considering all these mixtures." There were more information, but she left them out deliberately seeing how tired Naruto looked. She would take her time later and tell everything, no need to rush._

" _I see," Naruto slowly nodded his head._

" _Don't worry," Amaterasu chuckled lightly, "You will not have a gigantic body or a hideous face. You will look exactly like your previous self, but you may have small horns and you will have a superior physique."_

 _Naruto laughed as well hearing her comment. And when his laughter died down, he went for the second question, "I just realized, you said that you can't bring anything worldly. But how did you get the DNA?"_

" _Ahh~ Those? The thing is, we can take a small part of a soul and make it possess all the information of the bodies that they possessed; no need for the real body for such a trivial thing. And that's exactly what the overseers of your dimension did." Her answer was quick._

 _Naruto sighed as his fingers tapped the table, rhythmically. She could see that he was processing all this, so she let him be. Finally, he stopped tapping the table and looked at Amaterasu._

" _If you believe this is the best, then I think you should proceed."_

 _Amaterasu nodded at Naruto, satisfied that he had no problem with her choices. But she couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure that you are okay with those DNA?"_

 _Naruto shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, I did want the DNA of someone like Madara just to have some fun with his power. But I think his soul fell into the category of 'Evil'. But still for you to get these two DNA are more than I could ask for."_

 _As long as he was happy, she was fine with that. But she didn't know why all the DNA he wanted were from the souls of those two particular 'family',_

 _Senju and Uchiha,_

 _Guess she would find out later why he wanted to combine the DNA from these two families._

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

"You reek of sex."

Naruto looked to his side, his eyes narrowed; but he couldn't help his lips from twitching, "Seriously?! _You_ are going to give me a lecture about this? There is a reason you are known as 'The Eternal Pervy Sage', y'know."

Jiraiya faltered, just for a second, but it was enough to bring a huge grin to Naruto's face. His mentor looked at him and raised an accusing finger, "Don't even go there! I was known as 'The Youkai Casanova' till you ruined it. You could have given me a break this time, you know?"

With a snort, Naruto looked away. Although Jiraiya had a point, but to Naruto, he would always be the 'The Pervy Sage'. Also Naruto had few very good reasons to call him that in this dimension. Just like before, Jiraiya was still the 'Gentle Pervert' who became _filthy rich_ just by selling his novels. To be honest, Naruto was quite surprised to see how much 'Icha Icha' series was selling. It was absurd. And, even now, he was very suave with ladies. And this time around Jiraiya was aiming for a new goal, a dream he couldn't fulfill before, to become the 'The True Harem King'.

"But you know," Jiraiya snickered, and that made Naruto look back at him warily, "I wasn't the one who earned the title 'The Insatiable Sex-Beast'." He wiggled his eyebrows at Naruto meaningfully.

Naruto covered his face with his palm and groaned out loud, "I kept telling you that it was because of the Rinnegan."

"And we keep telling you that it is _bullshit_. Everyone knows that it usually takes around six years for a fully matured Nine-Tails to get pregnant, let alone a divine one. And you achieved it in two. And I don't see how your Rinnegan comes into this equation." Jiraiya patted Naruto's shoulder mockingly, "Admit it, it's all on 'Little Naruto'."

Naruto released a heavy breath. He really wished he knew about this fact before he got Yasaka pregnant. Turned out, for a 'Divine Beast' or a 'Goddess' to get pregnant it would take quite a while. Depending on the person, it would take from five to ten years. From what Naruto heard, a divine lady would turn her mate's seeds into power and store it inside her for their unborn child. When the power would reach a certain limit, the child would be born. At first Naruto thought that the notion was very stupid, then Amaterasu told him that since the gods and goddesses were immortal, if their reproduction were normal like humans, the world would have been filled with divine children, breaking the balance. He had to admit she had a point. But he heard that there were exceptions. Still, the reason he got Yasaka pregnant was because of his high-quality seeds. He would never admit that it was because how he ravished his wife for months.

Nope, it was all because of his powerful genes and superior seeds, not his unquenchable lust.

"That happened eight years ago, you should give it a rest."

"Are you going to stop calling me 'The Pervy Sage'?"

A Pause,

"Yeah, didn't think so." Jiraiya chuckled.

Naruto's shoulder slumped. He turned away from Jiraiya, his voice filled with complaints, "How come you didn't change at all? I mean the others are completely different. From their names to their looks, everything about them is different. I mean it is as if they are reincarnated into someone else, y'know?"

"You mean 'Reborn'."

Jiraiya's smug voice made him turn back at him again, now even his eyes held an accusing glare which Jiraiya return with a hearty laugh, "Brat, I am 'Jiraiya the Super Pervert' no matter how many times I reborn, no one will be able to change that, not even a Goddess." He finished his speech with another laugh, which irked Naruto more.

Naruto was glad that Amaterasu was able to bring Jiraiya on this side. But even she was surprised by seeing how much Jiraiya remained the same. It was as if he went through 'Reincarnation' on his own. Not only was he able to take on his old name and looked almost the same as before, by pure coincidence according to Amaterasu, but he was the first to recover the memories of his previous life. But in the end, it actually helped him a lot. Still, Naruto really wondered what kind of _magic_ Jiraiya used; not that he minded how others turned out to be.

"Brat, snap out of it."

Naruto blinked. His mouth made an 'O' when he realized they reached their destination. It was the main chamber of 'Research and Development Section'. To maintain the maximum security, any kinds of teleportation spells or flying wasn't allowed in this area. Not even Naruto, the King, was allowed to use any teleportation based spells. So, he had to walk all the way here. It sounded awesome in the books and laws, but it was a pain in the ass to come all the way down here … walking.

The door in front of them opened immediately.

"Is this the trending fashion right now?" That was the first thing Naruto said, and he was sure the sarcastic tone wasn't lost on anyone.

"Come on now, I think this gives a sophisticated vibe." The person adjusted his hat to give him a mysterious look. But to Naruto, he failed miserably.

"Well I have to agree with the kid on this," Jiraiya added, amused, "This getup looks quite weird, Kisuke." Naruto nodded his head subconsciously.

Kisuke Urahara was 'The Head Scientist' and the leader of his 'Research and Development Section'. What most didn't know that Kisuke was actually Xuanzang Sanzang; the human monk, who traveled to India to retrieve the Sutras along with Sun Wukong, both becoming Buddha in the process; as far as Naruto heard. But for some personal reasons, he changed his identity after his ascension to 'Buddha'.

"Well, at least my woman lets me do my own shopping."

Jiraiya snorted but Naruto quieted down, it was for a different reason. Kisuke's comment made him remember something.

"How is she holding up?"

Both Jiraiya and Kisuke understood what he was trying to say. Kisuke just sighed and motioned them to come inside the lab, "She is devastated to hear what happened to her kin. But she trusts your judgment Naruto, like she always had."

Naruto nodded his head, slowly. He spoke, a few seconds later, "The devils will pay for what they did, willingly or by force … the choice is up to them."

Kisuke raised an eyebrow at the statement while Jiraiya furrowed his eyebrows slightly. Scratching his chin, Jiraiya asked, his tone had a hint of caution to it, "Naruto, when you said that you want to cripple them, exactly what you mean by that?"

Without any sort of hesitation, Naruto started on the explanation, "I will not go on a rampage in their world. It will make me and in an extension our empire, no different than them. And I do not want that. But the problem is, even though I do not want this to escalate, the devils will not apologize; not the way we want. I have seen how they acted, how they think. Their pride as a devil and their belief on their strength will stop them from admitting their wrongdoings, and soon their actions will lead to war. So we will crush their pride and shatter their belief. We will tear off their fake masks and show their true color to the world. We will defeat them in every way possible that they will not even think of confronting us, be it directly or indirectly; let alone thinking of going to a war."

Then he turned to Jiraiya, "This is what I mean when I said I will cripple them."

Both Jiraiya and Kisuke had an astonished expression on their faces.

"That's," Jiraiya once again scratched his chin, "a well thought out plan."

"Don't worry," Naruto chuckled, "We will go over the details on the upcoming meeting later."

"Is that why you defeated Sirzechs so badly?" The question from Kisuke came out of nowhere, "To weaken their belief?"

"I had full intention of defeating him, yes," Naruto sighed, "But, let's just say he chose his words poorly while we were debating and it backfired on him, very badly as you can see."

Naruto had no intention of elaborating it any further and it seemed that Jiraiya and Kisuke got the message, as they remained quiet.

Finally, they reached their destination.

In front of them was a large tube-like cryo chamber. And within, there was a body which looked exactly like Naruto.

"So, did you succeed?" Jiraiya asked.

"The success rate of this operation is around eighty percent," Kisuke immediately put his hands up to stop Jiraiya from interrupting him, "I know this is very important and failure is not an option. But you have to understand the complexity of it all. Even with our advanced magical technology and with the blessings from Lady Amaterasu this is the best I can do."

"How about the 'Time-Table' artifact we talked about?" Jiraiya asked.

"That would increase the success rate to ninety-five. But we are missing few core components and not even Lady Amaterasu knows where to find them." Kisuke answered, all the while touching the tip of his hat.

As for Naruto, he was letting Jiraiya and Kisuke do the talking since he was busy examining the clone with his Rinnegan.

Amaterasu kept her words. She created his body from the scratch and mixed the DNA perfectly. As a result, the moment Naruto woke up in his new body, he had a fully awakened Rinnegan. It wasn't the original but a mutated version since he could use few unique techniques, but at the same time he couldn't use few of the original ones. It might have to do something with the laws of the nature of this dimension. And with one tails worth of 'Chakra', which Amaterasu created just for his body, he mastered his Rinnegan in no time.

But there was one fatal flaw.

She couldn't create the chakra coils. She made one main core, like the majority of the beings in this dimension.

Naruto loved his new body, to be fair, after all, who wouldn't want to possess the one and only Rinnegan. But he still missed his old body. It's not that he couldn't pull of his old techniques. He found out a way to use Rasengan and most of its variation and a different form of 'Chakra Cloak'. He could still use shadow clones but not like before. But he couldn't use any of the 'Elemental Release' anymore. Also, now he could feel that he didn't have as much chakra as before. The thought was upsetting. But according to Jiraiya, he could increase his capacity to that of a four-tails Biju. Along with this, if he could improve his chakra control he might be able to use all of his past techniques, maybe more.

But for all these to work, his body needed to have chakra network; with all the tenketsu, gates and everything. In other words, either create a new body from the scratch and do a 'Reincarnation' all over again, or surgically add a full body chakra network with 361 tenketsu and 8 gates in his current body.

Now, Naruto wasn't the type to give everyone a headache just so that he could become a bit more powerful. But Jiraiya, Kisuke, and August didn't agree with him, not after when they saw how strong Naruto truly was in his previous life; hence all these research and hardships to make their king stronger. It wasn't like Naruto bragged about his strength, heck except for the Shinto Gods and Goddesses, only the 'Biju' knew about his past life. But one time when he was having a discussion with the 'Biju', one thing led to another, and he was forced to show them his power level of his past life. And things got hectic after that.

But there was no way they could operate on real Naruto. And this was where his new 'Blood Clone' came into play. Unlike his usual shadow clone, this variation had a much sturdier body and was a lot stronger, but they lack emotions. Also they couldn't transfer the experience or knowledge they gained to the user like the shadow clone version. So it was a perfect material to be used as Naruto's substitute. He would create a few blood clones for Kisuke who would do pseudo operations on them and record all of his findings. And when Kisuke would find a breakthrough, he would call them to look at his work. Well, most of the time, Naruto would just stay at the back and let Jiraiya, August, and Kisuke bicker amongst themselves. To be honest, most of the things they would discuss usually just went over his head anyways.

There was another more important and pressing matter at hand, Naruto knew that they understood that, but this ten-year long project was currently at its most crucial moment. For a moment, Naruto wondered if this was a coincidence or something else. He put that thought on the back of his head, something to check later.

With a sigh, Naruto looked to his side to see Kisuke and Jiraiya were throwing ideas at one another.

" _This is going to take a while."_

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

Zekram Bael's gaze went toward the door from their guest. A moment later, Ajuka opened the door and came inside, his face was stiff and slightly apologetic.

"I am sorry Sun Wukong, but it seems Sirzechs can't come because his meeting with the Family Heads isn't going to end anytime soon. I hope me being his replacement won't hinder our discussion."

Ajuka's lies were all part of his plan. After all, they were trying their hardest to hide the fact that Sirzechs lost so badly that he went into coma. If that information were to leak, he would lose a lot of political cards, which Zekram was sure that the devils needed the most at this time.

But it would all go to waste if his hunch regarding the Youkai faction would be proven wrong. And this was where Sun Wukong came in.

"It is better this way I suppose," Sun Wukong then turned toward the last member inside this private room, who was here from the beginning, "Before we start here is my end of the deal. After this, my debt to you Mephisto and in extension to 'The Devil Faction' will be fully cleared. And I will not be revealing anything that I am sworn to keep as a secret."

Just from those words, Zekram understood that one of his hunches was on spot as well as how the discussion would turn out. It seemed that Naruto Ōtsutsuki didn't reveal the fact that he defeated Sirzechs Lucifer.

"Then how can we be sure that you will not say that everything is too important?" Zekram pointed out.

Wukong snorted, "Please do not compare my honor to yours."

It was an insulting comment but to Zekram those words had no effect. He turned toward Mephisto and nodded who got the hint.

"Sun Wukong, could you tell us what you know about 'The Youkai Faction'?" Mephisto asked.

The smile on Sun Wukong's face after hearing the question greatly worried Zekram. 'How ignorant you are' was what the old monkey's smile was telling him.

"You really don't know anything, do you?" Just as he feared, that was how Wukong answered. But without waiting for anyone, he continued, taking a blow from his old pipe, "There is no more 'The Youkai Faction'. What all of you are looking for is 'The Avalon Empire'. Not many know exactly when this empire was formed but I believe that it was ten years ago, when Naruto Ōtsutsuki married Yasaka. I do not know what else I can tell you other than the fact that 'The Shinto Faction' has some hands in this since the capital city of 'The Avalon Empire' is called 'Amaterasu'."

Seeing the same silent question from the three devils, Wukong took another puff and went on, "I have seen many wonders around the supernatural world, but I have never seen such a miracle. It didn't matter if you have horns or tails, white wings or black wings, light energy or dark energy, hideous face or exquisite features; everyone was mingling with one another casually and had silent respect for others. There were no masks, no hiding, everyone was going on with their daily lives in their true forms. Yes, a lot of them were Youkai, but it didn't look like they had any special privilege because of their race. And the beauty of the capital itself," He chuckled at the end, "There is no way I can describe it with words alone."

"Can you tell us where their capital is?" Ajuka asked.

Zekram frowned but didn't show it through his outer appearance. He knew that it was the wrong question to ask and just as he thought,

"That I cannot tell." The answer was fast and short.

"I am sure that by now you know of our …"

Ajuka was rudely cut off as Sun Wukong snorted at him, even though his eyes couldn't be seen because of his weird shades, Zekram could tell the old monkey's gaze held no respect toward them. And that seemed off, because,

"Yes, everyone, every supernatural faction, knows about 'The Nekoshou Massacre'; but not from the devils' perspectives." Seeing the alert look on the devils, Sun Wukong chuckled, a mocking one, "I think by today early morning, every faction, from top governors to mere civilians, learned about the massacre. 'The Avalon Empire' has released copies of the agreement you had with them, along with the statement of the _supposed convict_ Kuroka. They also released pictures of the Nekoshou clan compound, or whatever was left of it." The sneer on Sun Wukong's face was clear this time, "No one is buying your _bullshit_."

This got Zekram worried.

He knew that the devils fucked up. Was he frustrated at what the devils did? No. The Devils were the embodiment of seven sins. They were bound to do immoral deeds. Telling a devil to follow a righteous path was like telling a wild tiger to go vegetarian. It was impossible. So, he wasn't frustrated at what the devils did, but he was irritated at how they did it. This wasn't the first time where some devils, be it the older generation or the younger one, would group up together to perform malicious activities. But those were all done in secrecy. If someone would slip in any way, then they would shrewdly shift the blame on the stray. After all, they had an image to maintain.

But this time, the incident went out of control. If it was a skirmish … heck even a nasty battle would have been fine; but massacre? Something was amiss. He immediately investigated and got all the names of the devils who were there. He had a private talk with the older ones, and it turned out something or someone incited them. And that's all he needed to know. It didn't matter to him if the incitement was strong or weak, or that at the end the acts were carried out by the devils only; as long as he could use some solid points to shift the blame.

So he asked Serafall since she was in charge of Foreign Affairs, to spread out the details of 'The Nekoshou Incident'. Of course, it had some very slight fabrication and it put the blame on a third unknown party. But the reasons he included should have been solid. Of course, in order to increase the validity of his claims, he asked a lot of the guilty devils to get injured.

Even though Serafall had a childish behavior, he trusted her capabilities. But for 'The Avalon Empire' to spread the news faster than them, and to more factions, told him how competent they were.

"Who do you believe?" Mephisto asked.

"You have to understand something here Mephisto," Wukong turned toward Mephisto, his voice grim, "First, no matter what your claims are, you didn't inform 'The Avalon Empire' what transpired here. You went on to execute a little girl to please your own people, fully turning a blind eye to the bigger issue. Second is that Hades confirmed their statements, not yours."

This made Zekram sigh, and the two other devils groaned lightly.

"Now if this is all, then I will be leaving."

Before Sun Wukong could get up, Ajuka stopped him, "You know, you didn't tell us anything other than their faction name."

Sun Wukong didn't stop. He got up, took a long puff and then turned toward Ajuka, "Naruto Ōtsutsuki, the first king of 'The Avalon Empire', is believed to have reached the higher ranks of the 'Top ten Strongest Beings in the World'. Their military might is quite unknown but I heard that the mightiest individuals of the empire are given a title, known as 'The Biju'. The strength of 'The Biju' members can be known by how many tails his or her title possesses. And from what I have seen, I can clearly tell that they are the most advanced faction in terms of magic and technology. Lastly, I pointed out this before but it seemed it eluded your mind, but the empire may be associated with the Shinto Faction."

When he was done, he took another puff, "Is that enough boy?"

Silence fell upon the room, but just for a moment. Zekram looked at Wukong, "As a guest, we are showing as much hospitality as we can whereas you are doing nothing but belittling us. Do realize who you are speaking to?"

A pause … before Wukong burst into laughter; not a mocking one but a genuine laughter, "And here I thought that you devils have changed. But it seems I was wrong. It was always about you first, everyone else later." His laughter turned into small chuckles, "I do realize who you are, but do you realize who I am and who I serve currently?"

Then his gaze swept through the room.

"I will take my leave now."

And he didn't wait for a second longer as Sun Wukong was gone through a custom teleportation spell.

The room once again became silent.

After some time passed, Zekram stood up and without saying a word, he left the meeting room.

Zekram directly came to his private chamber. Contrary to his whole compound or any of his other personal rooms, this was a very simple room. It didn't have many things, including furniture, but there was one object that stood out from the rest. Silently he walked toward the chair, and before sitting down, his fingers gently brushed the arm of the chair. This habit was formed two hundred years ago, when the new Satans drove the original ones away; and he finally got what he always wanted.

Lucifer's Chair,

The symbol of true authority,

And a reminder that he wasn't a mere servant anymore.

His reminiscing about the past stopped when he saw the table in front of him.

The table was custom-made, to match the chair. On top it, there was chessboard and the pieces were placed neatly on their starting place; except the black side was missing the king. He waved his hand over the board and the two black bishop pieces vanished.

Day one, after the massacre, the strongest devil ever to live was soundly defeated.

Day two, after the massacre, the two hundred years of the clean political image of 'The Devil Faction' was tarnished.

"Five more days, hmm~"

Zekram sat down on the chair.

In a chess game, the death of a king would result in an instant defeat. Because that was the rule. But the reality was completely different. Since in the actual world, there were no rules, no limitations. He had lived for thousands of years. He saw firsthand that victory could still be achieved with a single pawn piece, of course it was very rare. It wasn't easy to get back up when his side was in pieces … but it wasn't impossible either.

So would they get the final victory? The thought made Zekram laugh; a faction which was created since the birth of men, against a ten years old empire. Still, he would have to tread carefully. The incident had one abnormality. Someone or something or some organization subtly initiated the massacre, in a way that would put the full blame on the devil faction. And it was done perfectly, a ten out of ten in execution, if Zekram was being honest. But, the question was, who was this third-party targeting? Was it 'The Devil Faction'? If so, the culprits would be the descendants of the original Satan. But the only devil who could pull this off was Rizevim. The conclusion made him concerned. After all, Rizevim was every bit of shrewd like his father and Zekram. One of the main reasons, they won the civil war was because Rizevim didn't participate directly. Zekram was sure that even if he joined the war they could still win, but with a lot more bloodshed.

But what if the enemy was after 'The Avalon Empire'?

Regardless, it was time to pull some strings. Even if the empire got two strikes first, he had no intention of giving them the third one.

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **Hope you liked the chapter.**

 **Here is the 'Author's Note'**

 **The first thing that I want to clarify is that the 'Tobio' character isn't obito. Tobio is a genuine DXD character. I think he may make his appearance in the fourth season, not sure though. Regardless, I read his wiki on DXD and he seemed interesting to me.**

 **Now here is the main topic … The power levels!**

' **You are comparing hype and feat'. Duh~ I** **KNOW** **that. Wait! Don't raise your pitchforks yet. The thing is, I am not writing a comedy or a slice of life or an adult fic. I am writing an action-adventure story with drama, and the base world of my story is DXD. So, I have to CONSIDER these hypes if I want to create conflicts. Also Highschool DXD is a ecchi harem series. I mean Issei gets power-up by sucking titties! How can anyone properly and correctly compare this with Naruto?! I am not belittling anyone or any series by the way. Just putting my thoughts here.**

 **And this is my take on 'Top Ten Strongest Being in the World'.**

 **1\. The Four Horsemen**

 **2\. Shiva**

 **3\. Naruto**

 **4\. Brahma**

 **5\. Vishnu**

 **6\. Indra**

 **7\. Hades**

 **8\. Thor**

 **9\. Sirzechs**

 **10\. Ajuka**

 **Keep in mind everyone, this is** **NOT** **finalized. Do tell what you think about this. Also, Ophis, Trihexa and Great Red are not in the list is because their power is way beyond the top ranked ones. At least that's what I got from DXD wiki.**

 **As for Naruto, this is his main obstacle. He has** **Chakra** **but not** **Chakra-Coils** **. I will make this one of the main hurdles that he has to overcome to become stronger. But it wouldn't stop him, in any way, from using the Rinnegan's awesome techniques. Of course, he can use a lot more than just Rinnegan techniques.**

 **Now comes the characters.**

 **I am not telling. Yup~ Except for Jiraiya the rest are reincarnated into different persons. I will show their new characteristics and the differences through hints first before directly telling who is who. Telling earlier will make a lot of you riot. Since it is impossible to make everyone happy.**

 **Oh yes~ I completely forgot about the 'Biju'.**

 **Anyone with animal traits, youkai from all folklore (Japan, China, Korea ...), spirits, basically anyone non-human can make it to the list, for now six spots are filled, four more to go. So, go ahead, shoot some ideas and I will see if I can put them into the list or no.**

 **So that's it for now.**


	4. Chapter 4

**The fourth chapter of 'The Fourth Beast' is here …**

 **As usual for the 'Author's Note', it is at the end. And the reason I always give this reminder is because the author's note sometimes has the answers of the questions I get from the reviews.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **A New Faction**

 **IV**

" _So, what do you think?"_

 _Amaterasu couldn't help it. Her lips curved into a satisfied smile when she saw Naruto's reaction. She loved how Naruto's honest facial expressions and body gestures would sometime answer her questions rather than his words._

" _Holy shit! I look exactly like the old man Hagoromo, I mean with the horns and silver hair and everything. This looks so unreal. Just look at the body measurements, they are so on point. But," Naruto turned toward her, his finger pointing at the lower part of the floating body, "What the fuck is_ _ **that**_ _?"_

 _Amaterasu's lips formed an amused smile as one of her eyebrows delicately rose up._

" _No, no; this isn't funny Lady Amaterasu." Naruto fully turned to her, his eyes wide and his arms were flapping to his side, "I mean I saw how cautious and diligent you were in making the body. You gave everything you have and more, and everyone saw that. The end result is perfect, really … I mean you could have given me red hair like my mom or my old hair … anyways, the point is, I really appreciate what you did here. But," He turned back to look at the body._

 _She almost laughed out loud when she saw Naruto shivering, literally. He turned to face her once again, "What did you do with my 'Little Naruto'? I mean I can't even call it a 'Little Naruto' anymore."_

" _Well~ I did say that you will get a superior physique." Amaterasu giggled._

" _When you said superior physique I thought I would be as buffed as Bushy brow sensei or Killer B. Look, I get it that you are looking out for me but I am quite satisfied with my previous tool, alright. Not bragging here but I was one of the most well-endowed guys back in my world." When she gave him an inquiry look, Naruto rolled his eyes, "It's a guy thing. We tend to see who has the bigger sword. Honestly speaking," He involuntarily turned to look at his body again, "Even Killer B would lose here. I mean if this goes full … What the … Holy Father of Six Sage!"_

 _Naruto jumped back, screaming, as a certain part of his would-be new body came to life._

 _This was as far as she could go. Amaterasu started to laugh out loud. And she could see that her laughter made Naruto to finally understand what was happening._

" _You pranked me!"_

 _Indeed, it was a prank._

 _It had been two months since Amaterasu brought Naruto to their dimension. And she could say with full honesty that she had never seen the Shinto Faction brimming with so much joy and spirit. It was all because of their champion. He was a helpful man by heart, there was no denying that; but it was his devious pranks that kept everyone at an edge, in a positive way so to speak. His pranks weren't harmful, rather the sole purpose of his pranks was to bring smiles to everyone's faces; most of the time. After all, there were times when his pranks went out of control. Like last week when he thought that the statue of Susanoo lacked creativity, so he gave a helping hand. In her entire lifetime, she had never seen a statue so colorful that it looked intimidating. Needless to say, for the whole day Naruto was chased by Susanoo because of this._

 _Even she was targeted few times. Of course, the pranks Naruto planned for her were very different and special; because the aim of those pranks was to make her day all the more interesting._

 _And so she thought why not give Naruto a taste of his own medicine? It was just a passing thought, or maybe she was affected by Naruto's liveliness. But if she was being honest, it was an underhanded joke. After all, regardless of the dimension or factions or races, any man would be physically or psychologically scarred if a certain anatomy of their body was targeted._

" _That was a low blow, Lady Amaterasu."_

 _Naruto's statement made her laugh again. She waved her hand and immediately the floating body went through a radical transformation. It grew six to seven more inches and gained around twenty kilos more. The muscles, all around the body, became more defined. Even the anatomy Naruto was so worried about shrank few inches, which now was a perfect fit for the new body._

 _Although the body had no life, the figure was still giving off a powerful presence._

 _Amaterasu could clearly see how much Naruto appreciated his new body just by looking at his stunned face. But suddenly his face became blank and he turned toward her, "Even with this, I will not forgive you for that awful plan. You have no idea what you did. You just started a prank war, so prepare yourself. Cause you can bet your shiny godly crown that I will have the last laugh."_

 _She just giggled at the declaration. To be honest, she was looking forward to it. Sometimes the life of a faction leader could get quite dull after all. With that in mind, she waved her hand once again and the body disappeared._

" _Now that we have finalized your body," She let out another giggle seeing the grumpy look on Naruto's face, "Let's talk about the next topic of the day."_

" _That thing was the size of an arm!"_

 _She laughed out loud, she couldn't help it. Seeing such a powerful man shivering like a frightened child was funny. She wondered for a moment if her prank was too unpleasant for Naruto. But there was nothing she could do right now, so she just ignored the comment, "If it is too much then I can erase your memory."_

 _Naruto didn't answer, just grumbled._

" _Look, I don't think it was that big of a deal." Seeing the flat look on Naruto's face, she gave a fake cough to hide her embarrassment, "Let's change the topic, shall we?" Naruto just sighed which she took as a cue to continue, "You already have a brief idea about other factions as well as who is the current leader and how do they run their factions. Now I will tell you about the 'Top Ten'."_

 _Naruto sat straighter and leaned toward Amaterasu. With a nod, she started her explanation, "I told you about 'The Core Stone', right? The large stone at the core of the earth that we can only see after every hundred years."_

" _Why the time-gap?"_

 _An expected question so it was easy for Amaterasu to answer, "Well that is one of the rules of the Biblical God, creator of 'The Core Stone'. I don't know how he does it but the stone only appears after every hundred years or so. And the reason he created 'The Core Stone' is to keep the peace between the factions. A lot of us are dissatisfied with the method but we can't argue about it since it's doing the job perfectly." Amaterasu chuckled at Naruto's silent inquiry look, "The stone has the names of 'The Top Ten', the strongest top ten beings in our dimension. As for how the strength of the 'Top Ten' is measured? Simple, by comparing their power to the Biblical God's. In a way it works like this, the first in the 'Top Ten' list is the closest to the Biblical God in terms of power and abilities, and the second one is the second closest, and it goes on like this." Amaterasu explained._

" _So, he is the strongest one up there?" Naruto asked._

" _He is the strongest and the oldest amongst us. He is the one who created heaven, hell, underworld and humans. It was even stated that he re-formed earth so that the first humans could live there." Suddenly she sighed, "But even with all his might and power, he is still weaker than 'The Three Beasts'."_

 _Naruto hummed. Then he shot his next question, "But if he is weaker than those dragons, how come he defeated the strongest amongst them, Trihexa?"_

" _Good question," Amaterasu chuckled, "But there is no solid record of the fight. The only thing that we are certain of is that he sealed Trihexa with the help of 'The Four Horsemen'. How did the fight start or how it ended, we do not know. At first, we thought that Trihexa wasn't real. Some of the Gods from various factions were quite persistent about it. But then Ophis confirmed that it was real and stronger than her. That shut down most of those Gods."_

" _No one asked him directly? I mean this is some huge shit."_

" _The Biblical God is one of the most reclusive gods, or maybe he just doesn't want to associate with other Gods," Amaterasu chuckled. "Regardless, the fact remains that he is the strongest God alive; far overpowering and outranking any other Gods or Goddesses."_

" _And since the Biblical God has no intention to take over other factions, no one wants to mess with him directly and deliberately in fear of turning him against their factions." Naruto voiced out his thought._

" _Yes, and then there's the fact that the most beings in 'The Top Ten' don't want any conflicts. But it doesn't stop the factions from having a small squabble here and there with one another, but all of us make sure not to escalate the squabbles into an all-out war." Amaterasu added._

" _What about the Great War?" Naruto asked._

" _That's what happens when the strongest and the largest faction have a civil war. Although the devils and the fallen consider themselves as separate factions, to the rest of the supernatural world, we consider 'The Three Faction' as one single faction. And the Great War also gave us a glimpse of what would happen if a full-scale 'Faction War' breaks out." Amaterasu explained._

" _I see," Naruto paused for a moment before continuing, "Later, I will go through all the faction civil wars and take notes. It may come in handy."_

 _Amaterasu nodded at Naruto's idea. A moment later, she spoke, "Do you have any more questions? Dinner is going to be served soon."_

" _Yeah, one last question," Naruto started to rub the back of his head, "How does a god or goddess become stronger? I get a feeling it is not just simple training, like us normal folks."_

 _She knew why Naruto was feeling awkward about asking such a question. Just yesterday when they were discussing about factions and their standings, Amaterasu had to let out some harsh truths. One was about their faction being currently amongst the lower side of the mid-rank in overall faction ranking. She blamed it on the civil war of 'The Devil Faction' which weakened some of the most powerful youkai clans. She did give him the details but was glad that Naruto was very considerate throughout the whole time. He didn't ask anything and just listened._

 _Truly, he was a wonderful being. But,_

" _It seems I forgot to tell you one of the most important details." Amaterasu chuckled, "To become stronger is both simple and at the same time hard for us. We get our powers from two sources; 'Regalia' and 'Prayer'. 'Regalia' can be considered as divine constructs that some of us use, mostly the top ranks in each faction since it is very hard to create. The simplest way to make 'Regalia' is to defeat a strong entity and then use its soul or corpse to make one. But if the entity is not strong enough or the procedure of the creation fails, instead of 'Regalia', we will get an instrument for the mortals."_

" _How do you know which is which?" Naruto asked._

" _Simple, 'Regalia' will possess 'Divinity' which only us, gods or goddesses, can use. If it doesn't then it is just a failure." Amaterasu answered. She took a breather before continuing, "As for 'Prayer', it varies from faction to faction. For some faction, it is just getting tributes in various forms from their believers. And for some factions, it is the form of praying to their gods or goddesses. This 'Prayer' from our believers strengthens our divinity. So, in a simpler term, 'Regalia' gives us different kinds of powers and abilities, and 'Prayer' strengthens the core of our being."_

 _Naruto didn't say anything for some time. The silence stretched few minutes before one of Amaterasu's servants came and stated that the dinner was ready._

" _Shall we continue this after dinner then?" Amaterasu asked when the servant left._

 _Naruto nodded. But as they got up from their chairs, Naruto turned toward Amaterasu, "May I ask a question?"_

 _Amaterasu gestured for him to continue._

" _Do you have a weak heart?"_

 _She raised one of her eyebrows. The question was quite unexpected. Naruto just smiled, probably seeing her reaction, but something seemed off about that smile._

" _No, I mean … let's say if you wake up one day and see that mutated ding-dong of mine hanging on the ceiling of your room, will you have a heart attack?"_

 _Amaterasu wondered if she made a grave mistake or not._

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

Naruto was furious.

If he wanted to, he could have defeated both Sirzechs and Ajuka together at the stadium, right in front of every devil present there. It would have absolutely crushed their spirits and beliefs. But he didn't because, one, there would have been a lot of casualties. He avoided that not because he cared for the devils but to show that he wasn't like them. He wouldn't take the lives of the innocents just because he could. And two, he didn't want to show what he could do. His techniques and skills were very unique. Even his fighting style was considered abnormal in this dimension. And so, most of the time, he would fight away from everyone's prying eyes. And if he couldn't then he would go with 'Minimal Power but High Efficiency' method. This time wasn't any different.

Regardless, he knocked down their strongest devil and gave the whole faction one week time. His messages were simple. 'The Devil Faction' wasn't invincible. And all 'The Avalon Empire' wanted was justice, fitting and merciless. He even sent an official letter to 'The Devil Faction', stating the terms. But the steps the devils started taking were escalating this event to war.

First, the devils started spreading rumors about how their empire was using this incident as an excuse to conquer their lands. They had one legit point, and it was that after 'The Civil War', for two hundred years, the devils didn't cause any incident at this level. And yet within ten years of 'The Avalon Empire's' birth, this huge incident occurred. But, it was well within Jiraiya and August's expectation. And just as those two expected; to maintain their pride, the devil faction didn't play the main card. They didn't point out that he defeated Sirzechs, which could have diverted the supernatural world's attention to him. But the way the devils kept saying that the massacre was nothing but a part of a grand scheme, made him want to snap some necks.

This was still okay, somewhat, but their next action completely broke all of his restraints.

Naruto had sent a small force to barricade and watch over the Nekoshou compound. There was nothing left there but he didn't want the Nekoshou's land to be ravaged anymore. He couldn't send a large force since some might take it as an aggressive stance from their side. He also explicitly ordered the squad to stay inside the land no matter what. And then out of nowhere, 'The Devil Faction' attacked the compound, with full force. The unit took a heavy blow, with few deaths. The leader of the squad made a full retreat otherwise they would have been completely wiped out.

Then, the devils had the gall to play the victim when they attacked without any warnings. Their official statement about the attack was that until one week was over, they wouldn't allow any youkai near their land, even though the Nekoshou compound legally belonged to the youkai. Of course, they had put other excuses. But just after the first line, Naruto burnt the paper.

And now the devils decided to hide behind their greatest defense.

Naruto finally approached his destination, one of the most highly secured guest rooms. This room also worked as a small conference room, which was why he chose this place for their guests.

He wasn't surprised to see Jiraiya in front of the door, who was wearing a blank mask similar to what roots used to wear. Naruto just raised an eyebrow, silently telling Jiraiya to say his thoughts.

"We both know why," Jiraiya pointed at the door with his thumb, "They are here. I know you can handle yourself. But just a suggestion, if things get complicated, back down. We can't have them get tangled in this."

With that, Jiraiya opened the door and entered first to announce his arrival.

But Naruto didn't enter immediately. He looked up to see his reflection from the marble ceiling staring back at him. He lips slightly curved upward as he saw his normal silver-purple eyes changed into his special Rinnegan. After the transformation was done, he entered.

The first one to catch Naruto's attention was the archangel. And the reason for this wasn't his flashy dress or the unique holy power he sensed from him, but his expression. The moment Naruto entered, and the moment Michael saw him, the archangel's eyes went wide and just for a fraction of a second his power flickered. But Michael composed himself quite fast. The slip up came and went real fast but Naruto caught it. The reason why most didn't notice it was because all of their attention was purely toward Naruto. But he was sure, Jiraiya sensed the abnormality as well.

His eyes quickly scanned the other two guests, as he approached his seat, one male and one female. He read about their profiles before. Vasco Strada, one of the big shots in the Church as he was ranked the second highest official in the Church as Cardinal Priest. And then there was Griselda Quarta, strongest female exorcist alive.

His seat wasn't a grand throne in this room, everyone's seat here was the same. It was done to show equality. After he took his seat, everyone else did as well. Naruto had Yasaka sitting down to his right and August to his left. And on the opposite side of the table, Michael was in the middle while Vasco and Griselda sat left and right of him respectively. And Jiraiya was standing by the door.

"Welcome to 'The Avalon Empire'. I wish I could say our circumstance was different. But not everything goes how we want them to be, right?" Naruto started, with a rueful smile.

There was a pause. Finally, Michael coughed. It seemed for some reason he looked quite out of it. Composing himself once again, the Archangel said, "Please trust us when we say we also wished it to be different."

"And yet here you are." Naruto cut Michael off. He released a tired sigh, and gazed over the other exorcists, "Let's just cut the chitchat, shall we? What did the devils ask you to do?"

His blunt question surprised his guests. There was a small pause before Vasco implored, "King Ōtsutsuki, we know that you are angry, and you have every right to be. But all we ask of you is to listen to us for few minutes."

The silence that lingered afterward was anything but comfortable, but at the end Naruto gave them his consent.

Releasing a deep breath, Vasco started his explanation, "You want justice for the Nekoshou, we all understand that. Unfortunately, the devils are reacting to this situation very poorly. And if this goes on it can and will lead to war, we know that. And I am sure that neither side wants that outcome. But there is a reason as to why the devils are acting this way." Vasco paused to Naruto's reaction. He didn't say anything, just stared back. Coughing into his hand, Vasco continued, "The devils believe that it is the work of the Old Satans, especially Rizevim Lucifer. Ajuka did some tests on the devils for the possibility of being manipulated. And all the results came positive. They think that the old Satans are coming back to take control over 'The Devil Faction'. And this is why they are trying to weaken the faction by pitting them with other strong factions. This is also the reason why they didn't announce that you have defeated Sirzechs, except for a few individuals. Otherwise, the devils would have been targeted by other beings or organizations with devious motives."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

The question from Naruto brought down that eerie silence once again.

"We are not suggesting anything. We are only hoping that you will look into the bigger picture." This time it was Griselda who spoke up. Naruto thought Michael would be the one doing most of the talking but it seemed he was wrong. And for some reason, the look he was getting from the archangel felt quite unnatural. His gaze had a nostalgic look to it. Suddenly, Griselda's next words took his focus away, "If you retaliate badly, both of the factions will only be doing exactly what Rizevim wants. But don't get us wrong, we also want the Nekoshou clan to get their justice. We just don't want this incident to be the catalyst of the next war."

"You done?"

The dumbstruck looks on his guests were priceless.

"First of all, your concerns are noted but unwanted. Let me tell you something," Naruto relaxed on his chair, and closed his eyes, "I have mastered Senjutsu to the point I have awakened few unique abilities. And one of the abilities allows me to directly use the spirit energy from a location to look into the past of that place. It has its restriction but I will not divulge into that. What I want to say is that I saw what happened at that compound. I know that the devils were influenced to throw the first attack. But," Naruto opened his eyes and his guests filched. After all, the power he was releasing through his eyes may be subtle but it wasn't anything his guests were accustomed to, "The atrocities committed by the devils cannot be brushed off, by simply saying that they were influenced by a third party. They could have stopped but they didn't. They went on killing and raping till there were none left. There is no excuse, no justification, for what they have done." Naruto felt his powers rising, he could see the sweats on his guests' forehead. But he couldn't stop. Fortunately, a gentle touch from his wife calmed down his raging emotions. Her aura brought him back before he lost himself in those horrific memories.

Naruto grabbed her hand tightly and took few short breaths.

"We are truly sorry to hear that, but rest assured that the new Satans will properly deliver their punishment." Vasco replied back.

"So I am guessing, 'The Heaven Faction' is trying to be the mediator in this situation." Naruto's gaze went over all three of them, "If so, then I will ask again. What do you think is the best solution? The devils massacred the Nekoshou clan, influenced by an enemy that they couldn't kill or imprison within two hundred years. Pretty sure they also have the excuses ready for this. Then, they didn't honor our contract. They are refusing to give the justice that the Nekoshou clan deserves. I mean when I went to the stadium to save the younger sister, who was completely innocent and unrelated to the event by the way, I saw lots of devils who took part in the crime were just sitting there and going on with their lives. They didn't have an ounce of guilt in them for what they did. Or, now they are going to say that someone also brainwashed them to act like this. The funniest part though, it didn't end here, now did it? Just yesterday, they attacked the Nekoshou compound again. I had sent a squad of twenty people, who stayed only inside the compound to watch over the land, which in every way belongs to us. Then without any sorts of warnings or messages the devils attacked with full force, seven of our men were killed in action and quite a few suffered heavy injuries. And the best part in all of these, the devils are playing the victim again." Naruto smiled, but he was sure it didn't come out as intended, "So tell me, what do you think is the best solution?"

"The devils are in the wrong and so are their actions, no one is denying this." Finally Michael spoke up, taking the center of everyone's attention, "But if you take actions similar to them, a war will break out. We are not here to defend what the devils did. We are here, hoping and trying, that this doesn't escalate to a war. And if everything fails, then the flames of war will spread to the human world and to other factions again."

"If that happens, a lot of people will die," Michael gave that unnatural look again, "Your people will die. Will you be okay with that?"

This … caught Naruto off-guard. And somehow, he could feel that there was something else hidden deep inside the archangel's words.

"Do you know why we named our faction 'The Avalon Empire'?" Everyone turned their gaze toward the speaker, who was none other than Yasaka. With a smile, toward the guests, she continued, "Our king here, has united all the youkai, be it a huge clan or a small group, within ten years; a feat that even the Gods and Goddesses from 'The Shinto Faction' dubbed as a miracle. Of course, fights had occurred and blood had been spilled. But it was still considered as the most peaceful unification recorded since the birth of youkai. Then he made the most remarkable achievement that none of us had ever thought was possible. He made an alliance, a true union between the Faerie Faction and the Youkai Faction, without spilling a single drop of blood. He named this new allied faction 'The Avalon Empire'. Avalon, in faerie's term, is similar to heaven. It is considered as the ever distant utopia for the faeries, untouched and uncontrolled by any being or laws. Our king liked the concept of that place so much that he named our empire after it, rather than giving it more of a youkai or eastern culture related name. And the way he presented the empire's name to us, his people, made faeries respect him and youkai to adore him."

Yasaka gave Naruto's hand a light squeeze, "Also, 'The Avalon Empire' of ours is not a faction. Because, to our king, faction indicates a society that consists of certain types of races, or beings who follow certain gods or faiths. 'The Avalon Empire' does not possess that prejudice. We take in and protect anyone, as long as you love the land you live in, respect everyone regardless of their races, and honor the rules that uphold the peace. And all this was made possible by our king, Naruto Ōtsutsuki."

Then the smile left her face as she frowned, "So if he asks us to go to war, we will gladly lay down our lives knowing that he is doing so to protect our future, our freedom, our beloved, and our rights. And we will do it as many times as he asks because everyone in 'The Avalon Empire' believes in him. So, I ask you, Lord Michael, do not judge our king's actions and values based on your beliefs on protecting a balance that doesn't exist."

This was totally not on purpose, but Naruto let out a low whistle when his wife was done.

And it was enough. Her speech cleared up his resolutions, mostly. Naruto turned toward his guests and didn't wait for their response, not that they had any. He then looked at August to his side, "August, will you show our guest the way out."

Now, this snapped them back to the reality. And it seemed they had things to say but Naruto knew how to shut them up. After all, he wasn't the Hokage for show. The way he sat, the way he looked at his guests was enough to tell them he had made his decision and would not hear a word. They were welcomed to try though.

Vasco and Griselda gave up quickly and got up. But Michael didn't get up immediately. The stare down between the archangel and the youkai king continued for few moments. Finally Michael averted his gaze, not on his own, it was because Vasco called him out.

Slowly they followed August but just before leaving the room Michael stopped, "I have no right to say this but please reconsider this."

He didn't wait for any answer after that and just left.

Jiraiya also followed the guests from behind, closing the door on his way out.

When everyone was gone, Yasaka got up from her chair and knelt in front of Naruto, tightly holding both his hands, "What are you afraid of, my love?"

Naruto chuckled. She still had the power to see through him, to understand his inner-conflicts. Even though he had the Rinnegan, her eyes were more special than him. After all, without any special power, she could still see through masks and facades of her beloved ones.

Letting out another chuckle, he bent down and kissed her hands, "I am worried about the future." Yasaka didn't say anything. Her silent support made him continue, "Every faction, big or small, will know about us; about our bloody and vicious entrance on the Supernatural world. This may create some doubts and complications, which will affect our future relationship between our empire and other factions. Not only that, there are a lot of youkai clans and faerie societies out there. They will be in danger from now on."

When he was done, Yasaka just smiled. But her expression said enough.

Then she let out a cute scream, as Naruto pulled her onto his lap and buried his face on her chest.

"This sucks."

Yasaka giggled and started brushing his hair, "You are not omnipotent, my love. You cannot control everything. But you can learn from this and make sure something like this won't happen to our people again."

"Michael is right about one thing though. People will die." Naruto whispered.

"But it is necessary, isn't it?" Yasaka answered, "You have seen how evil and ruthless this world can be. Even our previous world, which was full of fights and deaths, doesn't hold a candle to this one. Without power, words and beliefs alone aren't enough to move people. Without spilling blood, no one can create an empire. But you did."

Naruto blinked. Then he looked up to meet her warm gaze. She continued with an adorable smile, "Even actual gods and goddesses consider your achievements as miracles, things _they_ thought were impossible. But that's who you are. You can create miracles, not just with your words but also with your power. Your power far surpasses all the gods and goddesses of Shinto Faction, combined. An unimaginable amount of power, but yet, you do not use it like the most. You use your powers, your beliefs, and your ideas to do the right thing, to create the correct path; no matter how hard it is. You always had. And I know that you will do the same this time as well."

She kissed his forehead and then slowly got up from his lap.

"Dirty politics isn't your specialty, my love. Leave that to us. You just sit down and create your miracles," Yasaka giggled again and gently pulled him up from his chair, "But you cannot create those miracles if you are not yourself. Do not fret over what anyone else said to you. They're not you. They have limited vision, faulty beliefs. So, just forget about those and," She poked her chest, "Listen to your heart. You will do the right thing."

The silence this time was comforting.

Then suddenly, without a word, Naruto hugged his wife. She returned the hug, and they just stood there like this for a couple of minutes. Finally, Yasaka tugged his jacket. After a tight squeeze, he reluctantly broke the hug.

"I love you, so much~" That's the first thing he said, he gave her a gentle kiss after his statement.

"It seems I need to change some of our plans." Yasaka raised an eyebrow after hearing that, whose cheeks were lightly pink right now.

Naruto just laughed and gave her another kiss.

"You're right. I haven't been thinking this through. It is time I handle this situation Naruto Ōtsutsuki style."

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

Roygun Belphegor, Head of the Belphegor Clan and the second ranker of the Rating Games, was monitoring the devil squads with an exhausted face. All of the top 'Rating Game Champions' were called and was _asked_ to act as the Overseers of the devil army, which had made camps all around the empty Nekoshou compound. While most of the devils in the army were alert, none knew the depth of the situation they were in.

She was in the stadium. She saw with her own eyes the state their mighty Sirzechs Lucifer was put into; by the Youkai King.

And now the devils were poking the already angered dragon.

The first two days, after the massacre, the devils were busy trying to take control of the incident, which they failed badly. The top-dogs of the devil society really underestimated 'The Avalon Empire'. So they took different approaches, they were drastic measures if she was being honest. For the next two days, the devils were trying to find out everything they could about the empire, and at the same time, they were raising doubts about the empire's motives to other factions.

It was just a cover for their main objective. They were preparing for war.

On the fifth day, they attacked the Nekoshou compound and drove away the youkai units stationed there. And it wasn't a simple attack, the devils went all out knowing what they were truly doing. It was a bad move, a very bad move. But the reason behind this action was somewhat logical, still idiotic though. It was fear, fearing that other factions would side with the empire. After Hades acknowledged empire's side of the story of the massacre, the devils wanted to barricade the compound, making sure that other factions or individuals could not do the same. The best solution would have been to destroy the compound but it would have made, without a word, all other factions side with 'The Avalon Empire'.

Also at the same time, this was an act of provocation toward the youkai king; and it was done deliberately.

Lives would be lost because of these selfish acts, Roygun had no doubt about it. The easiest way to solve this was to give justice to the Nekoshou. The solution was simple but not the execution, since somehow, a lot of nobles got tangled into this. Now the higher ups were blaming the Old Satans, saying that they influenced the devils.

Roygun could see where this was going, and she was sure so could the _reasonable_ devils. Bael clan wanted to protect the status quo and they think the only way to do so was to protect those nobles since some of them were quite high-up, and maintain the pride of the devils to satisfy the general populace. And this was their absurd solution, to force 'The Avalon Empire' to come to an agreement which would benefit the devils most. She also heard that in order to have more power on their side, they had a meeting with 'The Heaven Faction' and 'The Grigori'. In another word, the Bael clan was trying to pull the other two side of 'The Three Faction' into this mess.

Even they, the rating game champions, weren't excluded. Zekram knew the corruption inside the rating game from the start, but he didn't stop it. Why would he? After all, because of this, he had control over most of the champions. Unfortunately, all of them were too deep into the rating game corruption to go against his words, except for Diehauser Belial. But she was sure even though Diehauser was clean, the old fox had other ways to have control over the number one rating game champion.

But this wasn't the worst part.

They had to bring in their full team. Now, this was what made Roygun angry. She was ready to die for her foolishness, but she would refuse to let any harm come to any of her peerages. She would do anything to protect them. Unfortunately, she knew that the world didn't work that way. Not everyone had the luxury to hold their own fates in their hands.

"Lady Roygun, the unit is in position." Her queen, her surrogate younger sister, came to her side and started to read her the report, "All of your peerage members are not having any problems with their positions."

"What about Bedeze and Diehauser?"

"Lord Bedeze is making another patrol around the compound. And Lord Diehauser has returned to meet with Lord Ruval." Her queen didn't look at her report to answer those questions.

The jobs of the rating game champions were simple; oversee the army units situated around the compound, inform the main army which is far away from the compound, and to hold their position should there be an attack. Also, they have to follow some simple rules and make sure the other devil units follow them as well. First, show no disrespect toward the Nekoshou compound. There might be someone watching, and they have to keep up their act. Second, do not attack unless the youkai would come in with force.

"So much exaggeration," Roygun sighed as she rubbed her forehead. At least, she was able to take the position of the messenger, which was the last line of defense and furthest from the compound. She didn't want her team to be anywhere near the compound. She even explicitly told her peerages to withdraw should a fight break out, as she and her queen would protect their back.

"Return to your post." Hearing Roygun's command, her queen retreated.

She opened the map again.

There were four units, consisting of around few hundred troops, stationed on the four side of the compound. There was also an extra unit of a hundred devils, and their job was to circle around the compound. And the main army was around ten to fifteen kilometer away from them, not too close to be seen and not too far to send the troops.

Then she looked up from the map.

And she blinked.

Right on top of the compound, there was a flying ship, one fourth the size of the compound.

"It's an enemy …" The shout wasn't finished.

Shots were fired, seemingly from all the sides from the ship. And just moments later, she could see fires engulfing all the area where their armies were stationed. She quickly turned around to see the place where her peerages were also was on fire.

Without a second thought, she rushed there.

She looked back when she heard the huge explosion. The ship was down. But before she could rejoice, four more emerged out of nowhere and took the fallen one's place. And they also immediately started firing. She could hear the screams of outrage soon turning into cries for help. But she didn't care, she had her own peerages to save.

She almost made it to the camp without any problem. But at the very end, a single youkai stood there, blocking her path.

She didn't care about her opponent as she threw a large explosive energy blast. Her carelessness almost killed her if it wasn't for her years of honed instinct.

The energy blade narrowly missed her neck.

And that woke her up.

Even though she could see the camp where her peerages were, even though the said camp was on fire and she was hearing the sounds of fighting, she still put all her focus on the opponent in front of her. Her senses were telling her that one wrong move and the match would be over. After all, if the blade was aiming for her chest, she wouldn't have come out scot-free.

She started examining the woman in front of her. Her opponent was strong, no doubt about it seeing how the blue-colored lightning was smoothly dancing around her body. But it wasn't the powerful lightning or her beauty that took her focus. It was the ears and tail, they were cat-like.

Her stance told Roygun that it would be a fight to the death.

With a defeated sigh, she introduced herself, "Roygun Belphegor, Head of the Belphegor Clan."

"Yoruichi, Head of the Nekomata Clan."

Once again her instinct managed to save her from another fatal strike. This time the nekomata aimed at her eyes. And she didn't stop there. The attacks kept coming and even though she was fast, her opponent was faster and agiler. After getting two more shallow cuts, she released a burst of power to get some distance, and immediately readied her special magic.

Her clan specialized in earth magic. But due to the usage of her king piece, she had gained immense demonic power, which she used to unlock various powerful branches of earth magic.

She immediately created tens of strong golems, all of which surrounded her to create a wall around her. But she was once again surprised by how precise the attack of that Nekomata was. She hit all the vital points of a golem, all the while dodging the onslaught of the golems' attacks. They were slow but not this much as to how her opponent was showing. With an astonishing speed and precision, she took down her golem wall within mere ten seconds.

But those ten seconds were enough for her.

"Armor of the mountain Demon."

Her whole body was enveloped by red light, but just for a second. When the light disappeared, her clothing fully changed. The bone armor she was wearing now was just for show, it didn't cover much of her body. It was one of those useless sexy looking armor. She knew that, because, her armor wasn't meant to give her any defense. It was the enchantments. Her skins were now tougher than the strongest underworld steel, and at the same time she got a huge boost of strength.

So it was speed versus strength, precision versus power.

Roygun also created two medium sized Warhammers to give her the extra reach that she needed.

And the fight resumed once again.

Five minutes, it took solid five minutes to land her first strong blow on the nekomata. Her opponent wasn't using the lighting to just move around, she was also using the same lightning to create blades of different sizes to use against her. She was also cutting the same place so many times that even her legendary armor was wearing down. She had to keep reinforcing her armor to keep up her defense. But the most exhausting part for her was that the nekomata was using her lightning as armor as well. Roygun had put few blows on Yoruichi before but they weren't strong to faze her. It wasn't that she lacked the strength but it was about the angle and position.

But finally, she delivered a solid hit.

Yoruichi faltered for a moment which made her turn her back on Roygun. But it was enough for her to see it. Yoruichi was wearing a black sleeveless and backless shirt, so the tattoo was clear. It was the word 'Gobi' artistically written in Japanese, which was covering almost all of her naked back.

And out of nowhere, all of her senses started screaming at her.

The cloths Yoruichi had on her were torn apart by the intense lightning she started creating. The lightning she was using before was blue in color, now it was completely dark-purple. Her legs starting from her knees, her arms starting from her elbows, and the tip of her tail and ears were completely covered in lightning.

Roygun didn't even blink.

Her hammers were destroyed and parts of her armor shattered. She immediately tried to reinforce her armor but a solid kick on her throat broke her concentration. And it was the brutal attack on her head that told her that she was going to die, no questions about it. Her strongest armor could match her, but it didn't look like she would be given the time to switch.

She didn't like to use that armor because it was created fully relying on her king piece, a tainted part of her past that she wanted to forget. And it seemed her naivety would be the reason for her death.

But even with all the odds against her, she didn't give up. She couldn't. She kept reinforcing her armors using the full power of her king piece. But it was futile. Her armors were shattering faster than she could strengthen them; and the injuries now were becoming more fatal.

As her vision started to blur, she tried to concentrate her senses toward the camp. At least, she wanted to make sure that her peerages made it out alive.

And suddenly the attack stopped.

She blinked. Then she looked at Yoruichi, who also had a surprised look on her face. And the reason was, her lightning was gone.

Then she felt him beside her.

"Sorry, I'm late." Diehauser said.

Immediately, the nekomata jumped back. Not because of Diehauser, but because flames consumed the area she was standing on.

"Ruval," She shouted, her voice was hoarse.

The next heir of the Phenex Clan didn't turn to look at her as he pressed on the attack.

Another loud explosion took away her focus. She looked up, and her jaw dropped slightly.

The fabled flying warship was here. She never saw it this up-close. It was easily three to four to five times the size of the youkai bombarding ships. Another huge sound came from the warship, and she looked ahead to see another of the youkai ship was destroyed. The remaining two youkai ships started focusing their fires at their warship, but it seemed it had an energy barrier that was properly shielding the ship.

"Another of those ships is on their way." Roygun raised her eyebrows at the statement. Diehauser just nodded at her and then looked in front, "Her lightning ability is powerful but the concept is simple."

She understood what he meant. As a member of the House of Belial, Diehauser was able to nullify the abilities of people or objects. However, he first had to understand the concepts of the ability in order to render it 'worthless'. The more complicated the concept behind the ability was, the more time it would take for him to use his ability. But if the concept was simple, it would take mere seconds. Just like how it literally took him two seconds to cut down her golem wall in one of the rating games.

She turned to look at the nekomata who was having a hard time defending against Ruval without her lightning powers. It seemed, her lightning element wasn't hard for Diehauser to decipher. Still …

"Meidō Zangetsuha."

She felt a unique energy. It came out of nowhere. She looked up, at the source of the energy.

The warship that changed the tides of the early battles in the civil war, the warship that took the hits of the old Satans and still survived … was collapsing. There was a black orb at the middle of the warship and it was slowly increasing in size, while destroying the ship and pulling everything inside of it.

It looked like a small black-hole.

Suddenly her scenery changed. She blinked. There was nothing in the sky now. She looked down to see the familiar muscular hand tightly holding her. She blushed, but just for a second before her gaze stopped at the place they were standing.

Green energy flame was covering that place.

She finally understood what happened. Someone attacked where they were standing, and she didn't even notice. And if it wasn't for Diehauser moving her away … she shuddered at the thought. A strong energy blast from Diehauser, who was still holding her, removed most of the green fire.

Then she saw him.

He was a handsome and tall young man, with fair skin, pointed ear and knee-length silver hair. He was wearing an elegant looking kimono with samurai-type armor on top of it; and there was a huge fur on top of his right shoulder. And one look at the sword he was wielding told her that it was a very dangerous weapon. Yet it was the wielder that scared her.

Then her eyes landed on the kneeling Ruval who was just a few feet away from the dangerous man. It seemed to her that he got caught in the fire attack at point blank range. She wanted to shout but she couldn't. The man just walked passed him without a care. And suddenly Ruval fell down on the ground. Then she understood. Although Diehauser dodged the green fire attack along with her, it wasn't aimed at them. The attack was meant for Ruval. And she could sense it.

Ruval Phenex, heir of the Phenex Clan, was dead.

"Roygun," Diehauser grabbed her attention, she looked at him, still unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Retreat,"

It was this word that made all her senses to come back. But before she could retort, he continued, his eyes not moving away from the man, "Retreat and regroup at the second warship. Take command of it and wait for Lord Ajuka's arrival. If he doesn't arrive within the time limit, and if you don't receive any messages from me by that time … make a full retreat."

Roygun wanted to object. She wanted to stay. She knew Diehauser was a Satan class devil and was a monster even by their terms, and it was all his power unlike her. But the man in front of them was dangerous, she could feel it. The fights between these two individuals would only end with one of them dying.

"Go,"

She didn't want to. She didn't want to lose any more of her precious people. But she had no choice. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek before leaving the place.

And the moment, she was out of their sights, she heard the explosion.

She choked on a sob.

" _Someone, stop this nightmare."_

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **Hope you liked the chapter.**

 **Here is the 'Author's Note'**

 **First is that I know there will be questions regarding few things but all I will like to say is that everything will be answered throughout the story, so be patient. And yeah, this was a huge cliffhanger but the main is way long so I decided to divide it into two proper chapters, so you have to wait for the next chapter. This chapter already reached 9k word count.**

 **Now the main thing that I want to talk about,**

 **The Characters,**

 **Yes, I know I am adding quite a few characters but i can't do anything about it. I am writing a brand new faction (Avalon Empire) from a King's/leader's point of view. Of course, there will be lots of characters, both major and minor if I want to properly build up the faction. I will try to have proper balance between them.**

 **Also, I** **WILL NOT** **add main characters from other universes. For example, there will be no Inuyasha. I am sorry about this but I think adding too many main characters from other universes will be a disaster.**

 **And I will stop comparing the power levels. Because if I focus too much on it, I will not be able to write an enjoyable and exciting fights. Of course, I will make sure not to make any blatant mistakes that may ruin the mood of the story.**

 **Also about the 'Biju',**

 **Anyone with animal traits, youkai from all folklore (Japan, China, Korea ...), spirits, basically anyone non-human can make it to the list, for now six spots are filled, four more to go. So, go ahead, shoot some ideas and I will see if I can put them into the list or no.**

 **So that's it for now.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is the final chapter of the current arc. At first I thought of making this into two chapters then I decided against it. As a result this chapter turned out really big, I mean the word-count went over 14k+ I think.**

 **A special thank you to '** **Fuyuriku'** **for helping me out with the grammar through reviews, and to '** **DarkFox2** **' for helping me out with the setting of the story through open and friendly conversations,**

 **Also, please read all the way till the 'Author's Note' at the end, as I kept saying that a lot of questions are usually answered there.**

 **One last thing would be that I do not watch 'Boruto' nor do I read 'Highschool DXD' light novel. So if any kind of concepts clashes with them, I do apologize beforehand.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **A New Faction**

 **V**

" _Wow~ I didn't think he would be putting so many conditions. It seems he still has his issues over 'Fate'."_

 _Amaterasu chuckled at Naruto's sheepish expression as he was reading the report. They were at the last stage of her grand plan to reincarnate Naruto. Naruto's body was done and he was perfectly happy with the final outcome. Now, all that was left was to confirm the bodies of the other three souls she brought, as well as where and how they would be reborn. For Naruto, since he was reincarnating, all he had to do was to take over the body she created. The soul and the body would take time to adjust, meaning that the process of reincarnation wasn't instantaneous. It would take some time for him to wake up in his new body, maybe a couple of days to a month at most, and then he was done. Of course, he would need some extra time to get used to his new body and power._

 _But for the rest of the souls she brought, they would have to start over from the very beginning; meaning all the way from a baby. Well for most cases, since Jiraiya, Naruto's mentor and godfather from his previous world, chose a youkai that not only was perfect for his personality but also bypassed this big hurdle, somewhat. He was quite the crafty one, if she was being honest._

" _Well, as you can see, I am also giving them the choice to choose. Anything they want, as long as it's under our jurisdiction. After all, like you, they are our special guest." Amaterasu leaned back onto her chair, "And for your friend here, although he has the most conditions, they are not that hard to grant. I mean, if you summarize everything, he just wants two simple things. First, he wants to be the firstborn of a strong but friendly clan patriarch. Second is that he doesn't want us to interfere with his life. He wants to create his own path, his own 'Fate' as he liked to put it."_

 _Naruto started scratching the back of his head, "I guess I can see where he is coming from. Well, as long as he is happy with it." He put down that report and went for another one, "But I do wonder how well things will go for him? I mean, it would suck if he turns out to be a broody asshole like his early childhood." Naruto's hand stopped in mid-way, "Well, I will just give him another beating and talking if that happens. I mean he turned out great after my 'Talk no jutsu'."_

 _Amaterasu just delicately raised one of her eyebrows at Naruto, but didn't comment._

 _But before Naruto could read the next report, Susanoo barged in._

" _Amaterasu, it's an emergency! Izanagi came back!"_

 _For a moment, she was completely stunned. But when she finally registered the words, she abruptly stood up from her chair._

" _This … is not possible."_

" _Is there something wrong?" Naruto asked, very politely as he put down the report. She and Susanoo looked at him, and then back at each other. She understood from the eye contact that it was up to her whether to tell Naruto about the situation or not._

" _Sit, Susanoo." She waved her hand, conjuring another chair beside Naruto and locking the door at the same time._

 _As she sat down, she looked at Naruto, "Can you wait for a moment?"_

" _Should I leave?"_

" _There is no need." Amaterasu sighed, "If this is true, then we may need your help, much sooner than we expected."_

 _Naruto nodded in acknowledgment._

 _Amaterasu looked at Susanoo, who was quiet up till now finally started speaking, "Our mother's shrine was just invaded. I have already sent a platoon but from the message we received, I don't think we will find any survivors by the time they will reach there. Fortunately, the shrine maiden was able to send a fully detailed report of the attack."_

 _With that Susanoo took out a glowing orb and he gave it to Amaterasu._

" _A memory container," Amaterasu sighed._

 _The moment she activated the orb, she saw everything. The youkai and the humans alike were attacking the sacred temple. But the shrine maiden kept focusing on the energy signature, which was the strongest and which the shrine maiden believed to be the main boss. And there was no doubt about it._

" _It's him." She didn't want to believe it but she knew her own father's powers more than anyone._

 _There was a pause, but only for a few seconds._

" _Susanoo, alert everyone. There is no reason to hide his return. Also, I want you to check with both the West Youkai faction and the East Youkai Faction, and find out which youkai clans defected to his side." She paused for a moment, "You may want to talk with Tsukiyomi as well, ask him if he can find out why humans were in the attack."_

 _Susanoo nodded but he didn't leave immediately. And she understood why._

" _Let me talk to him alone."_

 _Releasing a deep breath, Susanoo nodded once again and he left the room._

" _I believe you."_

 _That statement really shocked Amaterasu. Naruto chuckled, "If you think that I will accuse you of bringing me all the way here to just fight for you, and right from the start … and that I will accuse you and the Shinto faction of this deception; then you are wrong. I don't want to brag but I think am quite good at reading others, most of the time," Naruto added with a sheepish chuckle._

" _Thank you," Amaterasu whispered, she truly feared that Naruto would lose his trust in her and the Shinto Faction for what she was about to ask him._

" _I know that I should properly tell you the history of Izanagi and us, and why this is such a big deal for us …"_

" _The short version will be fine."_

 _Amaterasu looked at Naruto. Sometimes, his maturity at grasping situations would surprise even her._

" _Thank you again for understanding," Amaterasu paused, as she quickly arranged the words in her head, "Izanagi is our father." Seeing Naruto quietly listening, she continued, "He wasn't the best god or parent, but he was a good one. Unfortunately, a terrible event, an injustice, befell upon our parents; which led to the tragic death of our mother, his wife, Izanami. Izanagi never got over her death, and over the time it only got worse. We should have noticed it, the signs were there. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and decided to revive Izanami at any cost. Now, you have to understand that she wasn't a normal goddess. She was a primordial entity. And reviving her would mean bringing disasters of an apocalyptic level to the world, and all the realms connected to it."_

" _And it would have resulted in a faction war?" The realization hit Naruto._

" _And the end of our faction," Amaterasu nodded, the sadness in her tone was quite evident, "Because of that we had to stop him no matter what. But we couldn't defeat him as he was stronger than all of us. So, we tricked him and sealed him in Hell."_

" _And now he came back."_

" _I don't know how he evaded 'The Four Horsemen', guardians of Hell," Amaterasu sighed. But then she noticed the confused look on Naruto's face, she chuckled wryly, "A lesson for a later time?"_

 _Naruto matched her smile, "I understand."_

" _I will start the ritual right away." With that she got up, and Naruto followed._

" _How long will take for me to adjust?"_

" _The bonding between your soul and your new body will take few days, a month at most. After that, I cannot tell how long you need to get used to your new powers and your new body." Amaterasu answered as they headed for the door._

" _It will be funny if I wake up in my new body on October 10," Naruto chuckled._

 _Amaterasu paused, "Ahh~" She then remembered the date and understood what Naruto was implying, "Your actual birthday."_

 _Naruto just grinned back as a response. Amaterasu smiled and shook her head,_

" _Today is September 15, 1939, just a few more days more I suppose."_

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

'The Biblical God' and 'The Four Satans' weren't the only reasons most factions were wary of 'The Three Factions'. There was another reason, and it was their unique armies. The overall power level of the armies belonging to the Angels, the Fallens and the Devils was quite high compared to other factions' armies. This wasn't just a boasting, but an actual fact proven over the course of the history. Angels and Fallens were quite well known for their distinct light attribute powers as well as advanced war-technology. As for the devils, they had destructive powers and unique clan abilities. But what separated the devils from the Angels and the Fallens was the number of strong individuals they had, which was almost as much as the combined number of individuals Angels and Fallens had. So, the general devils weren't much worried, even though there was a rumor that the King of Youkai had beaten their All-Powerful Sirzechs Lucifer, they didn't believe it.

But Bedeze Abaddon knew the truth, he had seen it, felt the helplessness when the Youkai King struck. The attack was quick, brutal and had properly delivered the message: 'Don't fuck with The Avalon Empire'. Of course, the devils made sure that the news about the defeat of their Lucifer wouldn't spread, even amongst the general devil populace. Somehow, they succeeded. But that didn't mean that the danger was cleared. That was why he was doing all he could to help Zekram, even though he didn't like the old fox. And the reason was that if Zekram were to fail, Bedeze would be in the first line to be executed.

Yes, Bedeze was one of the devils who took the lead part in 'The Nekoshou Massacre'. He also knew that something or someone incited them when the devils were having a heated argument with the Nekoshou. After all, even though it was mostly because of the King piece, he was still a 'Ultimate-Class' devil, a powerful one too. But he still went with his urge, killing and raping the unprepared Nekoshou. After all, the youkai were low ranked beings that ought to serve higher ones like the devils. They should be glad that the devils were giving them a chance to ascend, through 'Evil Pieces'. Yet, they were defying them. So, they got the fate they deserved, annihilation. Even though the haze left after the devils had their fun, most of them didn't feel any remorse. But the situation completely changed when they saw what Naruto Ōtsutsuki was capable of.

But Bedeze knew, if they were to go back in time, they would still commit those heinous crimes. They were the devils after all.

So, that was why Bedeze was doing everything he could to make sure Zekram would gain the final victory in this political war. He and most of the devils were sure that this would never escalate to an actual war. After all, there was no way the youkai would seek a direct confrontation. 'The Avalon Empire' might have one strong individual but that didn't mean that their army would be of any match against theirs.

And that was why they were completely caught off-guard when the empire struck.

There was no sound, no magic outlet, nothing; a flying ship just appeared out of nowhere.

"It's an enemy …" He couldn't finish as the cannons on the ship roared. It looked like the ship was loaded with nothing but cannons, aimed at all sides. And they weren't fired randomly. All the camps, including the mobile patrol camp he was leading as well as the messenger camps which was far away were hit simultaneously. Fires engulfed the camps in a matter of seconds. Few unlucky devils died, but the most quickly got back up on their feet and started casting defensive and healing magic.

The first round might have caught Bedeze off-guard but he was ready for the second.

As soon as the flying ship fired the second rounds, Bedeze used his clan's infamous 'Hole' ability and created multiple portals around the ship, which absorbed the cannon shells and reflected them back at the ship.

The counter was lethal. The ship was destroyed.

But before he could even release his next breath, four more ships appeared.

And they, as well, fired accurately and simultaneously.

This time there were just too many. So, Bedeze concentrated his powers around him. He could see lots of other strong devils also put up shields or barriers all around but those weren't enough. Quite soon, the screams of outrage turned into cries for help. But he didn't care.

"Fall Back!" He shouted at the unit. The patrol unit members understood that their first line of defense had fallen. And if they didn't retreat, they would be just adding to the body count. And it seemed that they weren't the only one who thought that.

"Retreat! Retreat!" The command started echoing throughout the whole area.

Bedeze didn't know how the others would retreat nor did he care. He would have helped them if they weren't cornered like this. But his focus was disrupted by a loud noise. He looked to his side, to the source of the noise,

And he blinked.

His queen was missing his head.

He looked around and suddenly he realized that a lot of the patrol unit members either had a huge hole in their chest or their heads were missing.

"Sni…" The second in command of the patrol unit couldn't even utter his last word, as he suffered the same fate as his queen. It was then Bedeze realized that if it wasn't for his strong defense magic on his body, he would have been the same. He immediately created tons of portal-based shields in front of him and his unit, or whatever was left of it.

Then, he saw them … the empire's army, the so-called low ranked youkai military.

Bedeze had never seen the actual youkai military before, but he had heard about them. They would mostly rely on their youkai magic or clan magic; but compared to the devil magic, the youkai magic lacked the destructive power. As for their gears, they would wear different types of traditional clothes with katana, naginata or mace as a weapon depending on the characteristics of the youkai.

But what he heard and what he was seeing … wasn't matching up.

All the youkai that were coming out from the Nekoshou compound, were wearing full black clothing, a grey flak jacket and metal arm guards and leg guards. They were also armed to teeth; from swords to guns to magical scrolls, they were carrying various kinds and sizes of weapons. But it was their animal-styled porcelain masks which caught his eyes, for some reason he found the masks … menacing.

And then they attacked.

Some were using various types of guns and other weapons, while some were casting spells. And the way they were casting spells surprised Bedeze.

Youjutsu was the Youkai form of spellcraft and was mainly unique to the Youkai. But compared to the devil magic, not only was it less destructive but also would take a longer time to cast since the youkai had to physically write the magic words. Even though the magic words didn't need any medium to write on, it was slower compared to the devil magic which was mostly instantaneous.

That was what Bedeze thought. Unfortunately, it seemed he was wrong again.

The youkai weren't writing words to cast spells, they were making hand signs. Not only were they fast but they were also making the hand signs while they were moving around.

This was … unheard of.

But this wasn't the time to falter.

Bedeze boosted his demonic powers using 'The King Piece' and created a massive portal above the Nekoshou compound, intending to completely wipe out the place. He knew that his own allies would be caught up in the blast but he cared less. Right now, all he wanted was to stop the youkai, at all cost.

"Dragon Strike."

Blue streams of lightning came out from the Nekoshou compound, and eventually took the shape of a vicious looking dragon. But instead of striking the portal above, it charged right at him.

Bedeze immediately released the portal above the compound and created another strong one in front of him to defend him against the attack. At first, he thought that the portal was strong enough to reflect back the attack. Unfortunately, when the attack landed on his portal, he felt the blow on his power. He knew it wasn't enough to defend let alone reflect the attack, and immediately he started pouring more and more power into his already cracked portal. It felt like eternity to him before he started to see the attack withering. But he didn't relax, because he still could feel the pulse of the technique … through his bones. One wrong move and he knew things wouldn't end well for him. And finally, the attack died down.

His hands were shaking, his breathing was unstable; it wasn't only because he was tired. It was because he finally saw the attacker.

It wasn't the silver-haired youkai's good look or the menacing sword he was wielding that he was wary of. It was the _feeling_ he got. His instincts told him that he shouldn't fight this youkai, not like this. It was the same feeling he got when he first met Diehauser. The demeanor of a prideful individual whose strength could only be described with one word, 'Monster'.

An opponent he could never beat fairly.

He had to escape.

Bedeze immediately fired energy blasts at him, all going at him from random directions. But instead of falling back like he hoped, the youkai deflected all of his blasts in one swift sword strike, all the while charging at him.

He started to regret not teleporting out of the place at the first chance he got. He always had two safe locations locked on in case of emergencies. But those kinds of teleportation, which would take him more than few hundred miles away to safety, would require some time to cast it. And it seemed he wouldn't be allowed to get that needed time.

Bedeze started to cover the area with 'Hole' and placing them in between him and his opponent. But instead of cutting the portals and charging at him like he wanted, the youkai started to maneuver around him.

" _He knows about my powers?!"_

As the youkai was dodging the portals and closing in, he was getting restless. No matter how fast he would relocate the portals or magic trap bombs, another of his specialties, the youkai was faster to reposition himself and even faster to dodge his subtle traps. His movements were beyond abnormal.

Finally, he backed away.

And it wasn't for his power or attacks.

It was because the devils' strongest warship 'Eva 01' entered.

Bedeze couldn't help it, he started to laugh out loud. Because if this was here, then it meant that the Satans' weren't far behind.

"It's over!" He snarled at his opponent who was looking at the warship taking down two of the youkai's ones. "Now just stay still and accept your demise, like those cat whores!"

The look he got from the youkai after he said those words made his bones freeze.

"Orochi's Breath."

The sword the youkai was wielding glowed in green color, and Bedeze could sense the ominous feeling coming from the energy. And then the youkai swiped his sword. A huge amount of green fire came out from the weapon and once again took the shape of an eastern type dragon.

Bedeze immediately started creating portals after portals in front of him, at the same time moving back to create distance. But to his horror, all the portals were being easily crushed one by one. He knew that the attack was strong but this was absurd. This attack wasn't anything like the first one. A moment later he finally understood that he wouldn't be able to outrun the energy attack. He immediately made his decision and stood his ground. He poured everything he had on his 'Hole' ability and created the strongest portal he could.

"Don't get carried away!"

He shouted as the energy attack hit his reflective shield, to think that he would have to go all out against a mere youkai. He could feel that he was being pushed back but he knew he would be able to block it and reflect the attack. He was Bedeze Abaddon, the third ranker of the rating game and a 'Ultimate-Class' devil. There was no way a no-named youkai was going to beat him.

"What the …!"

But his power wasn't enough as reality finally hit him.

The shield shattered, but he was able to move away at the last moment through a short-distance teleportation. It took every ounce of power he had to cast that. Still, it wasn't enough to save all of him.

"Aaaaaaaa!"

He screamed at the sky as his left hand reached for his right one, but found nothing. He could see that the right side of his vision was blurred. He tried to stand but couldn't. He knew he had to look down to see the state of his body, but he was too scared to. But all wasn't lost yet. With shaking hand, He took out a 'Phoenix Tear' and gulped it down. He could feel the regeneration power kicking in … and then it stopped. He blinked and tried to reach for his right hand, but it still wasn't there.

"It … is not working." He choked on his own words.

This wasn't real! His breathing became erratic and he subconsciously started screaming again.

But his muffled screaming stopped as right in front of his eyes, 'Eva 01' was destroyed. One moment the warship looked unstoppable in its advance and in the next moment, it started falling. Their so-called reinforcement was taken down by a single attack.

"No! No! No!" He started crawling the other way. He had to get out fast, he couldn't die like this.

"Someone! Anyone! … Help me!"

.

With Sesshomaru

.

Sesshomaru knew that Bedeze ran away. He even knew where he teleported to but he didn't bother giving chase. The cowardly devil wasn't going to survive with the injury he received from his attack. Even if he did, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered as by the end of this night the justice would be taken for the Nekoshou, one way or another.

The devils really didn't know what was coming at them.

He silently gave orders to the squads and went after Yoruichi, who was the first to take off. She wanted to get the most kills, which was quite understandable. But he could tell that she needed backup as he sensed the new devils joining against her, after all Diehauser wasn't someone whom Yoruichi, the fifth tail, could take alone.

As he was closing in on Yoruichi, he saw all the four youkai flying ships falling. These ships were completely empty, meaning there wasn't anyone on board, since they knew that these ships would be the first to go down. So, they used these empty ships as baits to lure out something bigger, and something that would have some kinds of symbolic value for the devils.

And they did.

Sesshomaru stopped and aimed his katana at the massive flying warship.

"Meidō Zangetsuha."

The moment the attack left his katana, he started running again. He didn't even wait to see the outcome as he knew what it would be. He rushed to the devil that was pushing back Yoruichi.

"Orochi's Breath."

His aim was to take down all three devils swiftly in one single strike. But he failed. He predicted this would happen, after all Diehauser was on a different level compared to Roygun and Bedeze.

It seemed Jiraiya's judgments and predictions were on point, as usual.

He looked at Yoruichi, who was out of breath. It seemed her powers were sealed. To seal away the power of the 'Gobi', 'Worthlessness' was truly a very frightening ability.

No.

He looked at Diehauser, who till now had his gaze solely focused on him. Maybe it was the _wielder_. After all, according to Jiraiya, Diehauser was the fifth strongest devil, stronger than Grayfia, contrary to popular belief.

Sesshomaru took the first step forward.

Seeing that, Yoruichi sighed and retreated, without a word. He was glad she understood that she wouldn't be much of a help, not with her current state.

He passed the dead phenex. And he couldn't help but scoff when he saw the lady devil's face paling. The devils always liked to exaggerate their powers and abilities. The Phenex clan members thought that except for holy attribute attacks, nothing could work against their regenerative abilities. They honestly called themselves 'Immortals'. It was laughable how ignorant they were about the reality. Well, this _war_ would surely open their eyes, somewhat at least.

A small conversation took place between the two devils before the lady departed, reluctantly it seemed. And during that time, he just deliberately waited.

After the lady left, Diehauser fully turned to him and bowed slightly; a respectable gesture, one that he returned.

And instantly both of them clashed, closing the huge gap between them within a fraction of a second.

Diehauser blocked Sesshomaru's katana with his bare hand. Not exactly bare as his hand was coated with demonic power.

Both of them immediately fell back.

" _Finally a devil who simply doesn't throw his power randomly, a unique devil indeed,"_ Sesshomaru thought as he took a proper fighting stance.

With the tip of his katana, Sesshomaru threw away the fur which was on top of his right shoulder. And the moment the fur hit the ground, it made a loud noise as the ground cracked. Not surprising since the fur weighted a lot. After all, it was a training gear. But he had to give it to Diehauser, he didn't even blink or gave a slide glance at the fur.

And once again both of them charged at each other.

Fists against blade,

Power against speed,

Diehauser had tremendous mastery over hand to hand combat as well as martial arts. He was even coating his legs with demonic power to get an edge. But Sesshomaru was faster, and his swordsmanship was god-like. After all, he was defending as well as attacking with one sword whereas Diehauser was using all of his hands and legs.

There was a chance that his 'Meidō Zangetsuha' or 'Orochi's Breath' could finish this match in one shot but he didn't want to risk it. He knew that Diehauser wasn't the type to fall for the techniques that he had already seen and got a basic understanding of how they worked. And there was a chance that if Sesshomaru couldn't finish the fight with those techniques then Diehauser could get enough knowledge to use his 'Worthlessness' and seal those abilities. Unfortunately, it was a risk that he couldn't take.

Sesshomaru could see that his swordsmanship was better than Diehauser's martial arts, but the devil had a lot of power to spare, which he was using smartly to cover the gap. His magical coating over his limbs was not only thick but also had high regeneration.

Sesshomaru ducked a kick and tried to strike Diehauser's other leg. But the devil flipped, trying to get a hit on him while he was on air, but was unsuccessful. And as Diehauser landed, Sesshomaru went for his head once again.

But instead of dodging, this time Diehauser caught his katana with his bare hand.

This caught him off-guard, which the Belial took full advantage of.

The barrages of powered up punches rained down on him, mostly aimed at his face and neck, and he took the full blunt for a mere second. And that one second was enough to bring Sesshomaru to his knees, almost. That was how powerful those punches were.

"Dragon Strike."

But before the technique could even form, Diehauser let go of his katana and kicked him, or tried to but Sesshomaru dodged and created some distance. At least he tried to but the champion wasn't going to give him any space now that he had the advantage. Diehauser even coated his fist with 'Worthlessness' as each strike were somehow weakening him, if it was making a direct contact with his katana. It seemed Diehauser was aiming for his 'Youkai Energy' with his 'Worthlessness'. The concept was very vague but somehow it was working. Sesshomaru had no idea how. Was it because of how long they fought that he got a vague understanding of his power? Or was it that Diehauser had fought various youkai before? Maybe, he understood the properties of basic youkai energy and was just waiting for the golden opportunity.

A remarkable tactic, but futile at the end.

Diehauser stopped, not because he wanted to but he was made to.

Sesshomaru had another katana out, one that was releasing a high level of holy energy.

Seeing his second katana, and his new stance … Diehauser smiled, an exhausted and defeated smile. Sesshomaru very well understood the meaning behind that smile

Diehauser started to gather a massive amount of demonic power. The Belial extended his arms forward and in front of his stretched arms, a humongous orb appeared. Sesshomaru easily sensed how much 'Worthlessness' Diehauser applied to his collected energy. It seemed to him that the rating game champion wanted to finish this with this last attack. And so, Sesshomaru replied in kind. He gathered his energy and applied it to his second Katana.

Finally, Diehauser threw the power orb at Sesshomaru … who cut the said orb in one slash with his 'Tenseiga'. It looked easy, but it wasn't. Admittedly, the attack was strong, strong enough to match his Meidō Zangetsuha' or 'Orochi's Breath'. But against a powered up 'Tenseiga', a dark attribute attack wouldn't stand a chance. But even then Sesshomaru had to put all of his strength behind that single strike, to the point that his palm was bleeding because of how hard he had to hold the katana.

But at the end, he won. And there was no point in delaying such a one-sided fight. With that in mind, Sesshomaru shortened the distance and struck using 'Tenseiga'. And once again, he didn't hold back in his attack.

Diehauser did his best to block the attack but it was pointless. The holy katana cut through his power and flesh alike. But even at the last moment, Diehauser showed how resourceful he was. He repositioned himself at the very last second so that only his arm got cleanly cut off. And as the blood was gushing out, he held his severed hand in a way that the blood got on Sesshomaru's face, blinding him for a moment.

It was enough for Diehauser to back off. He even took his severed arm with him.

Sesshomaru sighed as he felt the rating game champion retreating. Unlike Bedeze, this wasn't a cowardly move if he was being honest. Since Diehauser stayed and fought for as long as he could and when he saw that the defeat was inevitable, he retreated. After all, defeat here meant death. But unfortunately for Diehauser, this was the outcome Sesshomaru wanted. Because when the devils would see the state of their top champions, especially Diehauser, their morale would crumble … and so would their feeble pride.

Sesshomaru looked toward where he was sensing the main fight was going on. His grip on 'Tenseiga' tightened for a moment, and the katana pulsed. Immediately all his injuries were healed. He usually wouldn't use 'Tenseiga' as he felt that the katana was too overpowered because of its unique holy attribute, especially against dark and corrupted beings. Just like how in this battle against Diehauser, Sesshomaru would have had a harder time if he solely relied on 'Bakusaiga'. There was even a slight possibility that Diehauser might have won the fight.

But the thing was this wasn't a fight, it was war. Which meant, anything and everything was allowed.

Sheathing 'Tenseiga', he rushed toward the frontline.

.

Frontline of the Main Battlefield

.

The devils outnumbered the youkai by two to one. Yet, it was the devil army that was taking the heavy blows.

Jiraiya snorted. Really, what did they expect?

He did a lot of background research on 'The Three Factions', long before this incident even occurred. And he was surprised what he found out about their military. Yes, as individuals the devils, the angels and the fallens were quite strong but as a group, as a military unit they lacked quite a bit. Unfortunately, it was the same case for almost all the factions. They lacked the discipline, the mindset. Maybe it was just him? After all, he came from a dimension where their whole life revolved around battles and wars.

Shaking his head, once again, he started concentrating on the fights ahead of him and started taking notes. This was the first battle where youkai and faerie were going against one of the top factions. Funny thing though; to the devils, it may seem like an all-out war, but to 'The Avalon Empire', this was just a skirmish. Yes, a deadly and a devastating one but not a war.

Even though the devils surpassed the youkai and faerie combined by numbers and powers, they were the ones who were being pushed back. Well, it wasn't only because how highly advanced the empire's military was, both technologically and tactically. But it was also because of the shock. After all, they were expecting youkai wearing traditional clothes wielding swords and spears, and casting their faulty magic. But what they got were youkai and faerie wearing improved and enchanted 'Anbu' outfit with guns and scrolls, and casting their newly designed magic. As much as he would like to call them jutsu, they weren't. After all, the spells were based on youkai or faerie magic, not chakra. And these spells were still a lot inferior to the original jutsu … to him at least.

And then there was the fact that the devils saw their warship 'Eva 01' taken down by a single attack.

But unfortunately for the devils, this was just a start. The empire's strategy was to show one hand at a time. Otherwise if they went all-out, the devils would get scared and retreat.

They didn't want that.

That was why they were baiting the devils. They were giving them enough time to 'Hope' and then they would crush their fragile hopes right in front of them. They would deliberately give them advantages to boost their 'Pride' and then they would destroy their insignificant pride as they kneel and cry. Their aim was to show the devils that they weren't unstoppable, in the most brutal and efficient way.

Was this what he or Naruto wanted?

No.

But it was a necessary step.

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw another large devil warship entering the field. It wasn't as big as 'Eva 01' but it was bigger than theirs. And he couldn't help but snort as the devils started to cheer and charge into the battle. And as planned, the devils were allowed to have this advantage for some time.

Moments later, few of the 'Anbu' were teleported two hundred feet above the ground. As they were falling, these five to six feet Anbu transformed into around thirty to forty feet 'Giants'. Of course, their gears were enchanted so they didn't break. As the giants landed on the ground, he was sure that a lot of the devils pissed themselves, understandable though. The combined shockwave of their landing was enough to push back a large part of the devil's frontline.

As the giants swung the large hammers they were carrying, the top part of the hammer opened up and threw large round explosive shells. And just like they were trained, all the giants were able to hit the devils' warship simultaneously. He had to give it to Naruto. His way of thinking outside the box really pushed their military's might to the next level. And the devils were just witnessing the tip of the iceberg.

Jiraiya couldn't help it, he whistled out loud. From where he was, the scene looked quite cinematic. The giants were marching forward, all the while the second 'Hope' of the devils was burning down to the ground.

But the march of the giants stopped as within seconds, all of them were frozen.

It seemed that it was time for him to step in.

Jiraiya closed his notebook and stood up. And in the next moment, he was at the very front of the battlefield, just merely twenty feet away from 'Serafall Leviathan' and 'Falbium Asmodeus'.

Both of the Satans were surprised, not because of his entrance but because what was written on his horned forehead protector as their eyes were glued there for a second.

'Ten-Tails'

It seemed they had some insight into their 'Biju' system. He knew where they got the information from. As much as he would have liked to keep that a secret, the old monkey had a debt to the devils. In cases like this, he was glad that it wasn't their old dimension. Because back in their original world, just to protect this small information, he might had to silent Sun Wukong.

Serafall was the first to strike as she hurled large ice spears at him and Falbium followed after her by creating metal puppets.

But Jiraiya was already done with his part.

"Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet."

The continuous stream of flames evaporated all the metal puppets in one shot. As for the ice spears, he just dodged them. It was expected as the projectiles were coming from a straight path.

" _Let me show you how to use a projectile-type spell,"_ He thought in amusement, as his hands blurred to create the necessary hand signs, "Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique."

Several dragon-head shaped fireballs rushed toward both Satans, and they were coming in a very erratic manner. Of course, in usual devil-style, Serafall released a burst of ice energy and froze the fireballs. And immediately both of the Satans changed their tactics. Serafall created around twenty ice hawks, which were around ten feet, and Falbium created hundreds of large chakram. And not a moment later, all these birds and weapons rushed at Jiraiya. The difference from before was this time, these attacks were coming in zigzag, just like how Jiraiya used his ability.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation."

The sea of flame covered the whole area in front of him, effectively blocking everything that was thrown at him. Unfortunately his technique wasn't strong enough as the fire died down quite fast, and some of the ice hawks were able to survive the fire. Of course, he easily destroyed those ice hawks with some well accurate strikes.

Jiraiya sighed. It seemed that elemental spells created from youkai energy were still slightly inferior to the devils' ones, even though he and Naruto updated 'Youjutsu'.

He sensed Falbium coming at him but couldn't react fast enough. He blocked the powered up punch but it seemed he underestimated the devils. Falbium's power fist broke his right arm. He knew that the Satan Asmodeus was strong but he should have been able to dodge him. Of course, he quickly figured out the reason. It was the Satan Leviathan. She seemed to be using some kind of very advanced ice magic to lower his speed and defense.

But it wasn't like he was in any danger.

Falbium noticed the change and immediately retreated, but this time, he wasn't fast enough. Jiraiya covered his fist with Touki and punched him. Not only he felt few bones breaking, but he also sent the Satan flying. He didn't wait a moment as he immediately appeared in front of the surprised Serafall.

"Five Elements Seal."

Serafall let out a silent scream when his fingers landed on her stomach. Jiraiya quickly followed up with his next unique 'Fuinjutsu'.

"Demonic Power Seal."

Serafall couldn't stay afloat as her powers were sealed, somewhat to be exact. Jiraiya moved away from the Satan Leviathan and landed exactly where he was standing before.

To be honest, 'Youjutsu' was still lacking quite a bit compare to 'Devil Magic', especially in the elemental and old youkai magic section. But it was a different case for 'Senjutsu' and 'Fuinjutsu'. He and Naruto were able to recreate these two types of Jutsu, which were a lot similar to their old world. And to him, these two types of techniques far surpassed any 'Devil Magic' or 'Holy Magic'. But the problem was elsewhere. Many could use 'Senjutsu' but only a handful could use 'Sage Mode'. And very few could use just the basic of 'Fuinjutsu', let alone the advanced section of it.

The two Satans got up, it took them less than nine seconds. Jiraiya had to admit, he was impressed. Especially at what Serafall did. The Lady Satan literally froze his magic seals. It seemed her 'Ice Magic' went beyond than simply creating ice structures.

The reason Jiraiya was able to take both of them alone was because of the naivety of the said Satans. Serafall and Falbium weren't going all out. They were going all out in their current form but Jiraiya wasn't a spymaster for nothing. He knew about 'The Demon Form' of the current Satans. Jiraiya could handle one of them in their Demon Form, but two would be too much for him. Of course, he had backup but it seemed that wouldn't be necessary.

Maybe they were being cautious or maybe they were just saving up their energy. Regardless, by allowing him to handle both of them, the Satans themselves were crushing the morale of their own army.

"Celsius Cross Trigger!" Serafall shouted.

Jiraiya blinked. He could sense the immense power behind the technique. He could roughly estimate the outcome of the attack. It seemed Serafall wanted to wipe out their full army in one go, something he couldn't allow.

"Elemental Layered Imperial Guardian Seal."

To Serafall's horror, her ice magic couldn't advance when he was done with his magic. Rather all of her ice magic gathered around the humungous magic circle on the ground that he created. The magic circle compressed the ice magic and started using her magic as a fuel to create a gigantic ice statue. Serafall tried to command the ice to get away from the circle but it wasn't working. In the end, Jiraiya used her signature technique to create a giant ice 'Susanoo'.

" _Who said you need 'Sharingan' to have a 'Susanoo'?"_ Jiraiya snorted.

But his 'Susanoo' was able to take only three steps before it shattered.

Jiraiya didn't need to look at the source, he felt him coming from miles away.

"It seems the royal cavalry has arrived." Jiraiya laughed.

Indeed, Ajuka Beelzebub had arrived and with him came the main devil army, consisting of even clan heads and their private armies; just what he wanted. Well technically, he created the Susanoo so that the devils could see where to come. It was more like a final touch up of _his_ grand entrance.

As Ajuka was raising his arm, Jiraiya put his hands up quickly in surrendering motion, "Whoa~ Whoa~ calm down." Then he folded his fingers, except for his index fingers as they were now pointing upwards, "I am not your opponent."

Jiraiya could see all the three Satans' eyes widening as they looked up where he was pointing.

Naruto Ōtsutsuki has entered the battlefield.

.

With Naruto

.

Naruto was here, from the very beginning. He saw his army killing the devils and at the same time dying by the hands of the devils. He saw everything. He could have ended all the fights if he entered earlier but he didn't. He needed everyone else to fight first. It was to show the devils that 'The Avalon Empire' wasn't weak, that they have other strong individuals besides him, that their army could easily match theirs. It wasn't what he wanted but it was a necessary evil.

But now it was the perfect time for him to enter the battle and so he did. And the reason no one sensed him all this time was because he didn't allow them to.

He could see that most of the devils were scared but were still trying to put up a brave front. He knew why they were scared, and it wasn't because of what he did last time. It was because unlike before when he came as a king who _asked_ for justice that his people wanted, this time he came as a king who would _take_ the justice that his people deserved. And even his outfit was different. He was wearing his royal outfit. It was simple white formal cloth with a lightly ornamented white cape on top it. And on the cape, in kanji 'The First King' was written vertically down. Of course, he wasn't wearing any crowns and excessive jewelry but even with this simple clothing, he looked intimidating. And that was the point.

After all, this time he came as a king who would _conquer_.

The first one to react, just as he thought, was Ajuka. The green haired Satan created a large serpent made of pure energy and threw it at him who was floating around a hundred feet above the ground. Naruto didn't move from his spot. He closed his eyes and simply waved his index finger. And out of nowhere, the forty feet long energy serpent exploded into pieces.

The surprised reaction of Ajuka and rest of the devils were priceless. After all, they couldn't sense anything. It just happened all of a sudden, and Naruto wasn't even looking.

Naruto could feel Ajuka getting angrier and started to gather a huge amount of power. He knew why he was doing that. Regardless, he didn't move and waited till the Satan Beelzebub was done.

Ajuka started to go through his unique transformation. Horns started to come out from his forehead and his hair started to grow, at the same time two more eyes popped out right on top of his original ones. His body grew to eight feet and instead of twelve bat-like wings coming out from his back, two large dragon-like wings came out.

The devils all around him were awed at the transformation and the monstrous power he was releasing.

When Ajuka was done transforming into his Demon Form, he rushed toward Naruto. His fist was coated with unique demonic magic power. This wasn't a simple powered up fist, like most of the devils. No doubt a hit from that fist could even knock down a major god.

But Naruto merely stopped that fist with his index finger. His eyes still closed.

The silence that followed after made Naruto laugh … almost.

Naruto then flicked his middle finger from the same hand and Ajuka flew backward, more like blasted off.

He could sense that the rest of the devils started to panic but the bald Satan quickly took control of the army and started giving commands. Seconds later, the ground started to lit up as the devils started readying their spells. Slowly the ground was engulfed in a sea of light as all the devils readied their spells. Finally at the command of that same bald Satan, every devil fired their spells.

Although a lot of the spells were simply powered up blasting type of spells, there were a lot which were unique. Naruto could easily sense some of the invisible and hard to track types of spells amongst those. The total amount of power from all these spells could easily wipe out an entire region.

And to defend against these devastating combined attack, Naruto simply pointed his index finger upward. Immediately all the spells, visible and invisible, common or unique, changed their direction and went upward. To every devil's horror, all of their spells went at least another few hundred feet above Naruto before they exploded.

The explosion was so strong that all the devils had to cover themselves with energy shields, those who were closer even had to go down. But the closest one, Naruto, didn't even move.

Then out of nowhere, a large powerful energy beam came at him, courtesy of Ajuka. This attack was much stronger than the combined attack of the devil army. Once again, Naruto didn't move. He didn't need to as the energy beam stopped ten feet away from him as if it hit an invisible wall. But unlike other attacks, this one was slowly getting closer to Naruto. All the devils were looking at it expectantly, hoping that it would at least hit Naruto. But unfortunately, when the beam came seven feet closer to him, it ran out of power. That's what the devils thought but Naruto sensed that Ajuka let go of the attack knowing that he wouldn't make it at the end.

And as soon as the attack stopped, all three Satans were right in front of Naruto. To be honest, they were within his arms reach. The Satans were going all out at this point, as the last two Satans Serafall Leviathan and Falbium Asmodeus also transformed into their Demon Form.

Serafall's 'Demon Form' was similar to Yoruichi's. Her arms and hands were covered in ice, her skin became paler, and had a slight blue hue to it. She also grew horns and had unique wings.

As for Falbium, it was more like he wore a super enchanted armor rather than going through transformation. It looked like one of those dark knight's armors from video games. But he also had unique wings like the rest of the Satans.

The combined power of the three Satans in their 'Demon Form' was making the whole place to shake. It was as if the atmosphere around them couldn't contain so much power. But at the end, it was futile.

Naruto pointed at the ground with his index finger, and immediately Serafall and Falbium flew downwards. Surprisingly though, Ajuka stood his ground. Was it his infamous 'Kankara Formula'? Or his pure raw power? Regardless, Naruto stopped the energy ball that Ajuka created by holding it with his bare hand.

Ajuka's eyes widened at the scene in front of him. The energy ball that he created started decreasing in size as Naruto started absorbing the demonic energy. He had to give it to the green haired Satan. He immediately understood that standing any closer to Naruto was very dangerous so he retreated fast.

He finally opened his eyes and looked at Ajuka, "Congratulation, you made me use another technique."

Yes, all this time he was only using his unique ability 'Accelerator'. It wasn't that the ability came with his unique 'Rinnegan'. He created this technique by getting an in-depth knowledge regarding gravity and space-time. He was quite surprised to see how advanced the human science and technology was compared to his old world. Of course, just like Jiraiya, he also tried to improve his techniques by studying science. And, lo and behold, he found one of his new favorite techniques.

Regardless, it was time he started on the attack.

Naruto raised his arm, his index finger pointing upward.

"Planetary Rasengan."

The Rasengan was half of his size, with three smaller ones surrounding it. He then pointed his index finger at Ajuka and the Rasengan went straight at him. Ajuka dodged it easily. It wasn't surprising since the green haired Satan wasn't his target. Before Ajuka could get ready for his next attack, he stopped. As a matter of fact, all the devils lost their balance when they felt the explosion. The might of the explosion shook the ground and distorted the sky, but that wasn't all. When the devils finally got back up on their feet, they looked back. Naruto could see even Ajuka was speechless at the scene.

After all, the closest mountain, which was around ten kilometers away, was completely gone. It wasn't the fact that his attack destroyed the mountain. No, cause after all, Ultimate class devils could do that as well. The devils were speechless because they couldn't sense the power from the attack at all. They just thought it was simple small scale attack. After all, they sensed only that much power.

"What's wrong?" Naruto's voice boomed, it was as if his voice was coming from all sides, "Aren't you going to attack?"

He then raised his arm once again, this time his palm facing the sky.

"Stellar Rasengan."

A giant Rasengan was created right on top of him, which was around ten times larger than his whole body. And around the giant Rasengan, nine 'Planetary Rasengan' of different sizes were circling; just like the solar system. And he made sure that unlike the Planetary Rasengan the devils could sense the power of the Stellar Rasengan. And they did, as he could see the hopelessness in their eyes. After all, this Rasengan of his could wipe out continents. He could go one step further, but there was no need.

"Can you freeze my attack, Serafall? How about you Falbium, any tactics? No? Ajuka, you have your 'Kankara Formula', right? Will that help?" Naruto shifted his gaze from the Satans to the rest of the devils, "How about all of you clan Heads? You have something, right? After all, I am just a lowly youkai who shouldn't be talking about justice and equality. Where are the pride and the scorn that you showed me at the stadium?"

A Pause …

"Where is it?!"

His Rasengan pulsed, just once. And the effect immediately took place. The ground started to crack, the sky started to change its color. As for the devils, a lot of them literally fell on their butts. Because they could sense the full power, they could sense that this attack would undoubtedly destroy the whole main continent where most of the devils reside, there was no question about it.

"I am not the Biblical God, I am not Michael, I am not Azazel. I am not any other factional leader that all of you are used to see. I am Naruto Ōtsutsuki, the first king of the Avalon Empire. I **will not** sit idly by when my people are slaughtered. I **will not** look the other way when my people shed tears and blood. I **will** tear apart your world and bring havoc upon your faction. And I **will** bring Justice to my people, one way or another. **Believe it**!" Naruto roared. Just the sheer pressure from him and the attack incapacitated most of the devils. He could see Ajuka and the other two Satans were furiously thinking to come up with a counter attack, but nothing would work.

"Please, stop."

Naruto, as well as all the devils, looked at the newcomer.

It was Sirzechs Lucifer.

The devils wanted to put their hopes on the strongest devil. But they couldn't, not with how he was currently looking. Sirzechs had bandages covering up most of his body, and from the clothes, the devils could see that he was missing an arm. And he was standing with the support of his wife, Grayfia. This scene solidified the rumor of Sirzechs being defeated by Naruto. Although quite a lot knew about it already, many didn't as the clan heads did their best to make sure this fact didn't spread. But at the end, the truth finally came out. And that made the devils to despair more.

"It doesn't have to end this way." The pleading tone on the Lucifer wasn't lost to anyone.

"And whose fault is it, that it escalated to this far?" Naruto stated, his voice completely emotionless.

Sirzechs looked down. With a sigh, he looked back up and met Naruto's gaze, "I will take full responsibility …"

"It doesn't work that way, Sirzechs." Naruto interrupted him, as he shook his head sideways. "Try again."

Sirzechs just held his gaze. A few seconds later, although it seemed hours for the devils, Sirzechs stepped forward. He was unsteady but he gestured to his wife that he was fine. He took a few more steps. Finally, he extended his good arm and gathered his signature 'Ruin the Extinct'. Immediately roars of cheers came from the devils as everyone started to power up.

And then the silence came just as fast, as Sirzechs struck down some specific devils behind him. It happened in an instant, tens of devils just ceased to exist.

"This is my verdict." Sirzechs closed his eyes and gathered his energy, so much that all the devils were rooted on their spot in fear. "The clan heads that took part in the Nekoshou Massacre will be stripped away of their position and will be placed under house arrest for fifty years. The heirs and heiresses that took part will have to give up their 'Evil Pieces', and will be under house arrest for ten to twenty years. And the rest will be facing execution."

Sirzechs once again met Naruto's gaze, but this time his eyes looked tired.

"Is that acceptable, youkai King?"

Naruto waved his hand and the Stellar Rasengan disappeared. But he made sure to keep the pressure on the devils. He then turned around and extended his other hand toward the Nekoshou compound. For some moment nothing happened. Then all of a sudden, the compound started to rise from the ground and the land slowly started to break apart. Although the devils were alert none took any actions. They couldn't.

It took some time but finally the broken pieces of the land formed into a giant twenty feet pillar with lots of markings and words adorning it.

"Every year on May 15, the day of the Nekoshou Massacre, all of you will come and pay respect to the dead, to the lives you have taken."

Sirzechs nodded his head at Naruto's statement.

"We will do that."

"All of this could have been avoided if you had just put that repulsive pride of yours aside." Naruto sighed. He then closed his eyes, and clapped. "Outer Path – Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique."

Naruto could see that everyone tensed at the translucent being that he summoned, some even tried to attack but Sirzechs once again released his power to take control of the mass. It was understandable as the summoned being was around ten feet tall and was wearing a traditional Oni mask. It did look quite intimidating. The being, he couldn't call it the king of hell anymore for obvious reasons, raised its staff. And not a moment later, it released all the souls of the deceased, friends and foes alike. But only those that died in the war, not the ones that Sirzechs himself killed.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the usual technique of the original Rinnegan. 'Outer Path – Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique' was one of the original techniques that he couldn't use because of the laws of this dimension, since it had so many other Gods and Goddesses. But for now, he was using multiple techniques together to get the result. First, he would mark the souls. Second, if the marked souls were to die he would contain the souls, making sure they wouldn't go to the afterworld. Then, he would return the soul to the rejuvenated bodies. And that was why he was here from the start, making sure he marked everyone so that he could revive them. After all, this technique had a lot of limitations.

Naruto snorted at the stunned expression of the devils as the finally noticed what was going on, "Like I said, all I wanted was proper Justice for the Nekoshou … nothing more, nothing less."

"Then why didn't you revive the Nekoshou? We could have avoided these meaningless fights if you did." What Ajuka said held some value, but it was same like Sirzechs. He accused him of things without knowing what exactly was going on from behind.

For a moment, Naruto released his full power and made sure only Ajuka could feel it. Otherwise, the pure pressure from his power would have killed a lot of devils. It was the first time he saw fear in Ajuka's eyes. And with just pure gaze, Naruto showed Ajuka the difference between their power levels.

"Was there anything left of the Nekoshou?" Naruto said with a smile, but he increased the pressure on Ajuka for the last time before withdrawing his power.

He then looked at Sirzechs and nodded toward him. Seeing that the current Lucifer understood the message, Naruto knew that the first part of it was finally over. He also sensed that all the youkai, faerie and 'Biju' retreated and went back, along with the _packages_.

With that, he disappeared.

.

With Sirzechs

.

The moment Naruto disappeared, it was as if all strings were cut loose, Sirzechs collapsed. But his wife got him first. And the next person that came to support him was Ajuka, who reverted back to his normal form. Sirzechs could see that Serafall and Falbium were taking back the control of the devil army. They were panicking, which was understandable to be honest as their own Lucifer killed some devils right in front of them.

"When did you get up?" Ajuka asked, worried.

Before Sirzechs could answer, Zekram came. Saying that he was unhappy would be an understatement, the old devil looked furious.

"You stupid boy! What have you done?!"

He could see that both his best and his wife was started to get angry. But one look and they calmed down, somewhat.

"Words from Naruto Ōtsutsuki, to you. 'Take care of the people as much as you take care of the chair. And, just so you know, the real world doesn't work like chess pieces, dumbass.'" Sirzechs stated tiredly. It took some time before Zekram finally understood the meaning behind those words. With an ashen face, the old devil immediately teleported out.

Seeing the confused look from Ajuka, Sirzechs chuckled, "I think Naruto meant that he went to Zekram Bael's place and probably found something that the old fox was hiding."

It took a few seconds before the genius tactician finally understood what Sirzechs was saying.

"He came to Gremory compound?!"

Sirzechs would never forget the fear and the helplessness he felt at that time.

.

Flashback

.

 _Sirzechs opened his eyes slowly. It took some time for his eyes to adjust to the light. He tried to move but his body didn't respond well._

" _Easy there."_

 _The voice made his eyes snapped open and to look at the source._

 _Naruto Ōtsutsuki was sitting on the right side of his bed. And to his left side, his son, Millicas, and his wife, Grayfia, were sitting. He finally noticed that they weren't moving at all. His breathing became erratic, and he felt his whole body shaking. He tried to gather his power but he couldn't._

" _Don't worry, I didn't do anything to them. I myself have a lovely wife and a cute daughter, so I can understand your fear. But rest assured that I will not touch them at all, regardless of the outcome of our discussion," Sirzechs's head moved toward Naruto. Not willingly at all, it was as if something forced his head to turn toward Naruto, "that we are going to have now."_

 _The youkai king was smiling. The smile didn't have a single shred of façade or deceit, but yet Sirzechs never felt so much fear seeing such an innocent smile._

" _Look, no need to make such a face. I just put them, and rest of your family under a gentle illusion. I don't want them to come for my neck, after all." Naruto laughed, but his fear only increased when Sirzechs heard that his whole family was under the thumb of the person who defeated him with ease._

" _I am not the type that goes after a family. But since you don't know me that well, no matter how many times I will say this, my words will have no value. So let us finish our discussion. The sooner we will be done, the sooner I will leave." Naruto said nonchalantly._

" _What do you want?" Sirzechs asked, his voice was raspy._

" _Justice?" Naruto looked confused, "Why isn't a single devil understanding such a simple fact? I do not want your land, your treasure, your women or your technology. All I want is fair justice for my people that your people killed."_

" _The devils were influenced. We were …"_

 _He couldn't finish as Naruto laughed out loud, "Ahh~ Same bullshit like other devils. Ask yourself this, what would you have done if our roles were reversed? Would you have listened to these kinds of cover-ups? Hmm~"_

 _Sirzechs couldn't reply and seeing that Naruto smiled, "Just as I thought." Naruto got up and Sirzechs tensed. He once again tried to gather his powers but to no avail._

" _An hour later, 'The Avalon Empire' will strike. Don't worry, it will not be an all-out attack from our side. No matter what you believe, trust me, 'The Devil Faction' will not survive an all-out attack from us." Naruto chuckled as he made his way toward the door, "I will give you one last chance, Sirzechs Lucifer. You are supposed to be the leader, not this Zekram Bael. And if he started throwing tantrums at your decision just tell him that 'Take care of the people as much as you take care of the chair. And, just so you know, the real world doesn't work like chess pieces, dumbass.' He will know what I meant."_

 _Naruto stopped just as he reached the door, "Sirzechs," This time the voice sent chills throughout his blood, "Don't let me down for the second time. All I want is peace and justice, but if I have to rip apart another faction to get them, I will not hesitate to do so. I will not like it, but I will do it for my faction."_

 _With that, he was gone._

.

Flashback Ends

.

"When he was gone, everyone was back to normal." Sirzechs sighed, "After that, I had a long discussion with Grayfia and my parents."

"And this was the answer you came up with?" Ajuka asked.

"You've seen him, Ajuka. You know that there was no time to play around with words." Sirzechs replied.

"I am not disappointed. To be honest, I think you chose the safest decision."

Sirzechs laughed at Ajuka's words, much to his confusion, "I didn't choose the decision my friend. The choice was all but given to me. 'The Avalon Empire' went toe to toe with our army. And then their strong individuals started winning against ours. And finally, Naruto Ōtsutsuki all but played with the full might of 'The Devil Faction'. They deliberately crushed our hopes and pride, so that if I make the hard choice, not many will complain. And even if they did, they will not gain any supports; not after this. Not after the last stunt he pulled."

Ajuka's eyes widened as he understood what Sirzechs meant, "You mean the reason he deliberately resurrected the devils in front of us …"

"He did it to show that my choice not only brought back the devils but also stopped a war which would easily take lots of lives. He was also able to make one point clear," Sirzechs smiled grimly, "He forced the notion into every devil that the Avalon Empire is strong, if not stronger than us."

Ajuka felt fear once again. Sirzechs could see that, and he knew very well why. His best friend was known for his prediction of future events, but even with his brilliant mind he could never think of something like this.

"Ajuka," Sirzechs called out his friend, "Make sure that the pillar is well secured, and inform all the devils that any kinds of disrespect toward it will be met with harsh punishments." Then he turned toward his wife, who was till now silently holding him up, "I will go back and rest for a while."

As Grayfia created the teleportation spell, Sirzechs looked back at Ajuka again, "By the way, if I am not wrong, I think you may find some devils missing. Just let that go."

Ajuka raised an eyebrow at that statement.

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

Diodora Astaroth was shaking to his core as he fell down on his butt. He was sure that he pissed himself. And who wouldn't after seeing the scene in front of him?

A giant two-tailed cat, made of pure blue flame, was eating Bedeze Abaddon, alive. The third-ranked champion was screaming his lungs out and throwing his specialized 'Hole' ability but nothing was working. Finally his screaming stopped as with another large bite, the cat ate him whole. But the crunching sound didn't stop yet. And when it did, the cat then turned around and lunged at another devil.

This wasn't supposed to happen!

Diodara was one of the devils that took part in the Nekoshou Massacre. But it wouldn't come as a surprise to the devils who truly knew him. There was no way he was going to miss such an opportunity. And who was going to punish them? The worst that could happen was their movement would be restricted for a month, maximum a year. But his belief was crushed when he saw what the youkai king did to their mighty Lucifer. And somehow he got the feeling that he was marked.

But unlike Bedeze, he didn't have the courage to go out and fight. He took the complete opposite route. He barricaded himself at Astaroth main house, which was modified by Ajuka long ago. He even tricked his parents into calling back their personal territorial army and had them guard the parameter all around the clock. He knew that he was safe. He should have been. But it seemed he was wrong.

He didn't know what happened but when he woke up, he was in this huge stadium. And he wasn't alone. All the devils that went the _extra length_ and had some fun in the massacre were here. But seeing Bedeze, he had hoped they could escape. Unfortunately, his hopes were crushed when he noticed who else were on the stadium.

The stadium was filled with youkai and what seemed like different kinds of monsters and faeries. And all of them had a strange and vicious gleam in their eyes, as if they were waiting for a show to start. The devils weren't just simply standing still. Bedeze and other strong devils were throwing spells after spells at them but nothing was going through the invisible barrier. Diodara deduced that the same barrier was the reason they couldn't use any teleportation spells. Some of the devils were berating and badmouthing the youkai, especially about the Nekoshou. The devils were hoping that some of the youkai would charge at them in anger and accidentally would bring down the barrier. But all the youkai were doing in response was laughing at them, as if they were ignorant of what was about to happen.

And they truly _were_ ignorant.

All of a sudden the stadium quieted down, even the devils stopped their rampage when they saw the final person entering.

Naruto Ōtsutsuki, entered the stadium and sat on a special seat. And without a word, he just snapped his fingers.

Then out of nowhere this large feline came and started mauling them.

Suddenly, Diodara noticed something.

He was the last devil.

And the large beast was looking at him like he was some kind of food, as if he was just a mere object only for its pleasure. A look he was quite acquainted with.

He gave a loud scream as the beast opened its mouth and closed in on him.

He felt the pain, the death embracing him, tearing him apart from inside out. It was indescribable. When others said that there was no pain greater than death, they weren't lying. But with this it was over.

Or it should have been.

Diodara blinked.

He was alive, and so were the rest.

Was it an illusion?

No.

He saw the blood on the ground, the torn up clothes on his body. And the monster was standing right where he was just seconds ago.

"Who said you could die?"

He looked up at the youkai king, who spoke without any emotions.

"You are not allowed to unless we have our fill."

Diodara opened his mouth but no words came out. Those were the same words one of the devils spoke as he was torturing a Nekoshou.

He let out a piercing scream but he stopped midway as the monster jumped and took a bite out of him again. But this time it didn't finish him in one bite. It was taking its time by slowly chewing him, all the while he was still breathing.

"Some … one …!"

As for Naruto,

He just sighed but didn't turn away from the scene as the two-tailed cat started chewing the young devil. As much as he wanted to give swift death to the convicts, in the end, he had to listen to the deceased Nekoshou who pleaded to give them a chance to take revenge against those who took everything from them. He wasn't the type to encourage revenge but it was like forgiveness. He was allowed to forgive those that wronged him, but he didn't have the right to forgive anyone on others' behalf. Same for revenge; there were times when he had to _stop_ people from having revenge and there were times where he had to _back away_. He learned it the hard way.

Of course if it was something small, he would have tried to reason with the Nekoshou, but it wasn't. So he promised that he would grant their simple wish.

And this was one of the main reasons to resurrect the devils. There was no point in killing the innocent and at the same time the right to kill the convicts only belonged to the Nekoshou. He ordered few of his 'Biju' to get all the devils that tortured or raped the Nekoshou. It didn't matter if the said devil was important clan head or a well-known heir or a relative of a Satan. As for the devils who gave swift death to the Nekoshou, he left them for Sirzechs. Of course he told the deceased Nekoshou that he couldn't take all the devils for obvious reasons, but he would retrieve all those that performed heinous acts toward them, no matter what. The deceased Nekoshou were okay with his decision.

The other reason was politics; this was pointed out by Jiraiya. This event could be considered as the acting stage for the grand entrance for the Avalon Empire. And if he were to massacre all the convicted devils there, it would send a bad message to every other faction. But this way, it showed that the Avalon Empire would take appropriate amount of action _only_ when it was necessary. At the same time, it also showed how powerful the Avalon Empire truly was.

As for the Nekoshou, he gathered all the souls of the deceased and gave them a form. He also gave them a portion of his power so that the devils couldn't harm them at all no matter how strong they were. In a sense, the two-tailed cat which looked exactly like Matatabi, was the collective form of all the deceased Nekoshou. He really wished to revive all of them, but he had neither the power nor the authority to do it. But he was glad that at least with this all the deceased Nekoshou now would properly be able to pass away. The corruption that was cast on their souls would be fully cleansed.

Now all that was left for him was to find the main culprit.

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

"Is this true?!"

The answer of that question was very simple, but for Michael that simple word was very tough to say.

Currently, he and Raphael were in the private chamber used by their father. The room was simple but at the same time had an ancient vibe to it because of the unique designs. Although the four Great Seraphs would always take care of this room, none would stay here any longer than necessary. After all, this place would always remind them of who they lost in the Great War. But this was an exception.

"Brother!"

Michael sighed. He knew very well why someone calm and collected like Raphael was this frustrated. He looked at the picture of their father, the only picture that showed his form. The Biblical God's full body was made with light but it wasn't hard to distinguish his body features but there was one thing that was clearly shown in the picture.

"Yes," Michael once again focused on the unique third eye that their father possessed. "The youkai king, Naruto Ōtsutsuki possesses 'Eye of the One'. But rest assured, he isn't our father."

Only a handful of beings knew about their father's third eye. Because their father made sure that the source of his power would always stay hidden, no matter what. And that was why he would have a formless appearance that he used most of the time.

"Michael," Finally he looked at his younger brother, "This is 'Eye of the One' we are talking about. Maybe he is the reincarnation of our father, maybe he is his second son. You do know that only our father possessed 'Eye of the One'. And the fact that we have found another person when we are facing such a dire situation cannot be considered as mere coincidence. You do remember what his last words were, right?"

"Do not give up on hope." The words came automatically to his lips. Over the course of the centuries, these words became like a prayer for Michael … to continue, to move on.

"Maybe this is the hope he was talking about," Raphael pleaded.

"He is the king of 'The Avalon Empire'."

"He belongs here!" Raphael didn't shout, but his conviction clearly showed through his tone.

"If he truly is our 'Hope', then he will eventually come here." Michael sighed. Seeing Raphael's reaction, Michael was glad that he didn't tell Gabriel and Uriel. Because if those two heard about this, they would have rushed at the kingdom to meet Naruto, regardless of the consequences. And seeing what 'The Avalon Empire' did to the devils, although to some it was justified, Michael didn't want to push their luck.

Also he wasn't sure of what to think of Naruto. He was similar to their father because of the aura he felt from him, but at the same time very different because of the actions he had seen him taking. But there was one sure way to find out if he was related to their father in any way. And it was to see how much control Naruto could have over 'The Heaven's System'. But for that to happen, they had to somehow bring him here. And the best way to do that was to tell Naruto Ōtsutsuki everything, and ask for his help. It sounded very easy, but there were a lot of risks. Risks, he could not take as the leader of 'The Heaven Faction'.

"For now, we will just monitor Naruto Ōtsutsuki's movement; nothing more, nothing less."

He needed a second opinion. And he knew who he should go to.

.

Somewhere Else

.

"You took your time."

Rizevim stopped walking and looked to the side to his brother leaning on the wall. The hideout was still a few good kilometers away. It seemed his brother was more restless about this than he thought. He turned toward him, and once again he couldn't help but notice the similarities his little brother had with their father. Well, the thing was, he only looked like him since his attitude was very different.

"Sorry for the delay Solomon, but Zekram was out like a hound." Rizevim answered with a soft-hearted chuckle.

"That idiot is predictable."

"Yes, he is. But considering all the things I did, I assumed it was safer to go into hiding for a few days."

Solomon just nodded at his words and then looked at who was behind him.

"Is it her?"

Rizevim turned around to see the young Nekoshou who was following him. Her eyes were still glassy and unfocused. Maybe he used too much of 'Power of Corruption' on her? Well, it didn't matter as long as her body and power were untouched.

Solomon walked toward her and took a good look at her with his only good eye since his other eye was covered with an eye patch. According to him, his other eye suffered heavy injury in a fight. But Rizevim never bought it. After all, he knew that Solomon was stronger than him, even though his little brother would always try to hide that fact.

"Yes, it does seem like she possesses the 'Dragon Taming' ability." Solomon nodded his head in satisfaction.

"As if there were any doubts." Rizevim said, finally a bit of sarcasm coming out. But he did wonder, for some time now, how Solomon could tell who had what abilities without even touching them.

Solomon didn't say anything and just extended his hand. With a sigh, Rizevim gave him the rope that was connected to the collar the Nekoshou girl was wearing. Rizevim knew that the girl's mind was corrupted to the point she would never run away but just to be safe he took some necessary measures.

"How many dragon taming maidens we got so far?"

"Not enough," was the short reply he got from Solomon. He couldn't help but sigh when he saw Solomon creating a teleportation spell and leaving with the girl.

Unlike most of the Four Great Satans' kin, Rizevim didn't have much interest in seeking revenge against the Underworld or the current Four Great Satans. He also did not have any interest in world domination that his father and the other original Satans and their descendants had desired. But that all changed when Lilith, his mother and the only person who he truly respected, told him that he had a brother. Of course, at first he thought that his mother died but turned out she was hiding until she safely gave birth to Solomon.

It wasn't Lilith who approached him but Solomon, around two hundred years ago. Like him, he didn't have any interest in ruling the underworld. But when Solomon told him about the truth regarding Trihexa and the Biblical God, for the first time in his life, he was filled with ambitions and dreams. And also the fact that he finally found a devil, who understood him somewhat, was quite entertaining.

"But still," Rizevim massaged his beard, "We already have four dragon taming maidens. Exactly how many we need to summon the third 'Heavenly Dragon'?"

Then his focus turned toward the untouched report Euclid delivered, which was in his pocket. He took out the report and started reading it. It was short and on to the point. But the content was quite upsetting. To think that the outcome of the dispute would be completely out of his calculations, it seemed the Avalon Empire was more troublesome than he thought.

"Argh~ I wish I could have some rounds with this Avalon Empire. They seem quite unpredictable," Rizevim then chuckled, "Unfortunately, the Nekoshou Massacre turned into a much messier incident than I thought. I think it is better if I go under cover until the fire dies down."

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **Hope all of you liked the chapter. It's double the length of usual chapters.**

 **Here is the 'Author's Note'**

 **At first, I would like to say thank you all for liking the story so far. This is the end of 'Nekoshou Arc'. Unfortunately the next update will take some time (for my other stories as well) since I got a really good job but I have to move to another country for it starting from next month. So don't think that I have dropped this or any of my stories if the update takes some time.**

 **Now as for the main issue, I know that some would feel quite bummed out as why Naruto resurrected the devils, but I hope I was able to properly portray as to why he did it. Even though he resurrected the devils, he made sure that the convicted devils were punished viciously.**

 **And yes, the Biblical God in my story is a Ōtsutsuki.**

 **Also, one of the unique 'Rinnegan' abilities Naruto has is 'Accelerator'. The idea was** **inspired** **from 'Toaru Majutsu no Index'. What I mean by 'Inspired' is that even though the outcome of the technique is same, the process of it is not. Meaning, Naruto uses different method rather than the 'vector manipulation' to achieve this feat.**

 **That's it for now. Later~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here you go everyone, a brand new chapter and start of a new arc. All thanks to my awesome new workplace that I am able to write so soon.**

 **As per the result of the poll, here is the order sequence of the arcs – Gods & Monsters An Empire amongst Faction The God-King.**

 **Now, a big Thank you to** **'LordSinnoh'** **for helping me with his wonderful review.**

 **Also, another HUGE Thank you to '** **shushanepa** **' for helping me with the Hindu Pantheon as well as giving me some awesome ideas about the Hindu Faction.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **Gods & Monsters**

 **I**

Extra Demons were the houses of top-class devils who were not a part of the 72 Pillars. But most of the Extra Demons had secluded themselves from the present Devil Society, not wanting to involve themselves with the current government. The reason was that at the Civil War, most of the Extra Demons houses joined the old Satans' side. And when their side lost, they were excommunicated from the devil faction. At that time the reason for the excommunication was justified but a few centuries later the current Satans tried to take the Extra Demons houses back, but it was futile.

It was true that the hostility between the remaining pure devil clans and the Extra Demon houses decreased but a lot of issues still remained. The biggest issue was that the Extra Demon houses followed the old ways, and they were content with that; to the point if any devils from the Extra Demons involved themselves with the current devil Government, they would have to break all ties with their households regardless of their status.

It wasn't that the Extra Demons didn't want to rejoin the current devil faction. The main problem lied in coming to an agreement that would satisfy both sides. But,

"Roygun Belphegor, do you accept the terms?"

Roygun looked up from her kneeling position to meet the gaze of the mighty Sirzechs Lucifer.

"Yes, I, Roygun Belphegor, Head of the House of Belphegor, accept the terms written in the contract."

She saw Sirzechs and other Satans nodding their heads at her words.

"Then, by the authority of the four Great Satans, I, Sirzechs Lucifer, welcome the House of Belphegor as the seventy-sixth pillar clan."

"Thank you, Lord Lucifer," Roygun spoke softly.

When she saw the acknowledgment, Roygun stood up and immediately Grayfia was by her side. She took her to the new council seat arranged for the House of Belphegor, which from today would be known as Belphegor Clan, the seventy-sixth pillar clan.

Yes, there would always be issues in coming to a satisfactory agreement. And it had been like this for centuries. But that all changed when the devil faction was utterly defeated by the Avalon Empire a week ago.

The general devil populace wasn't ready for the consequences of their defeat.

Roygun looked at Zekram Bael from her seat, who was up till now very quiet. She knew that something must have happened to Zekram, otherwise the four Satans wouldn't be able to take such bold moves.

The very first thing Sirzechs did was not to hide any facts regarding the Nekoshou massacre. He didn't hide the fact that he, the mighty Sirzechs Lucifer, was defeated badly by the King of the Avalon Empire as well as how the same king went against the full might of the devil faction and came out as the victor. Needless to say, the whole devil faction lost their shits.

And unfortunately for a lot of devils, Sirzechs kept his word to the Youkai King. He delivered the punishment that was promised. And it was later found out that quite a few devils went missing at the fight. There should have been a huge uproar. But the four Satans calmed the masses smartly, by using their fear against them. It was easy to do so. After all, now every devil understood two simple truthful facts.

One, they weren't unbeatable.

Two, every action had consequences.

But, it didn't end there.

Roygun turned her gaze to the opposite side of where the Satans were sitting, where most of the Heads of the Extra Demon houses were standing.

The biggest change, which no one was expecting, was creating an agreement between the pillar clans and the Extra Demon houses that was acceptable to both sides.

It wasn't anything complex. If the Extra Demon Houses agreed to follow the rules created by the current government, they would be given the title 'Pillar Clans'. They wouldn't be replacing any of the extinct devil clans but would be considered as new pillar clans. Of course, the four Satans gave their words that they would make sure the new pillar clans wouldn't face any kinds of discriminations.

Needless to say, most of the Extra Demon Houses agreed. They even went as far as to take back all the devils that broke ties with them in the past, her being the prime example. After all, finally they wouldn't be known as 'Extra' but rather would be considered as 'Pure Devils'.

"With this," Roygun shifted her focus to Sirzechs, "Today's session has come to an end. I do realize that there are few more Extra Demon Houses who want to join. But after I personally confirm their requests at a later time, we will hold another council session."

"So before I call it a day, anyone has anything to say?" Sirzechs asked lightheartedly as his gaze swept over the council room.

"If I may, Lord Lucifer," Lord Agares spoke up and immediately Roygun could feel the slight increase of tension in the air. After all, he was one of the clan heads who didn't like the recent changes. "With due respect, may I ask what is your plan regarding the Avalon Empire and their king?"

A taboo topic but at the same time, all the devils inside the council chamber wanted to know this very badly, and directly from their Lucifer.

"Stay far away from them?" Sirzechs made a questionable face, "I mean I don't want to lose any more limbs." The red-haired Satan pointed at his missing left arm with his eyes and laughed at his own joke.

Suddenly the atmosphere changed. It was subtle but noticeable. And it made every devil sit straighter.

"I understand your distress," The tone of the Great Lucifer changed completely, his voice didn't hold any anger or spite but no one missed the unimaginable power it held, "Honestly speaking, the devil faction never faced an actual defeat, if we are talking about from," Sirzechs pointed at all the clan heads, "Your perspectives. I mean we lost so much in the Great War but officially it was considered as a draw, no one won in that war. Then in the Civil War, our side won completely," Then he turned toward Roygun and the newly ascended clan Heads, "No hard feelings. So when the Avalon Empire defeated us, brutally if I may add, it left a very bad taste. Even now I can see that a lot of the devils cannot come to this term, that the devil faction is not as unbeatable as they thought. I understand this fact. I truly do. But you have to understand who is on the other side."

The pressure went up another level, "I am not sure why none of you were able to piece it together but Naruto Ōtsutsuki is definitely on the top level of 'The Top Ten'. I daresay that he is stronger than Khaoss," The sharp intake of breaths echoed throughout the chamber, "But here is the main difference. Unlike the Trimurti, unlike the Four Horsemen, unlike Khaoss, Naruto Ōtsutsuki is very much active. As all of you had seen and experienced firsthand, he has no problem taking tough choices if it is for his people, regardless of the consequences. Heck, at that time, it looked like he was ready to completely tear us apart if we kept denying him the justice for his people."

"So what is my plan regarding the Avalon Empire and their king, you ask?" Sirzechs turned toward Lord Agares,

"Stay as far away as possible. I do not want to wake up the beast again."

.

Ajuka's Lab

.

"Is this really how you want it?"

Ajuka asked his best friend who was trying out his new left arm. The thing was it wasn't a permanent arm but rather a detachable one, more like a summon-able one. Ajuka created a metal plate and attached it to Sirzechs's left shoulder. This plate worked as the key to summon the left arm whenever he wanted.

"I want to stay like this for some time. It will be a constant reminder to me and the devil faction of our mistake." Sirzechs chuckled. He closed his eye, and his left arm vanished, "Besides, I don't think you can create a fully working permanent arm for me, not yet at least."

Ajuka sighed and looked away. His best friend was right about this. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't create an arm that was able to withstand the full might of the unique power of the destruction Sirzechs possessed. There was a limit, and if Sirzechs would go beyond the limit his prosthetic arm would explode or break.

"Come on, not you too," Sirzechs whined.

Hearing those words, Ajuka remembered something, "How is Rias doing?"

"She is doing fine," Sirzechs released a deep breath, the cheerfulness was gone from his tone, "To be honest, I really didn't want Rias and Millicas to see me at that state."

Ajuka didn't say anything, but he couldn't help from clenching his jaw and tightening his fists.

"But I think we needed this," Ajuka sharply turned toward his best friend who uttered those words. Seeing the questioning look on his face, Sirzechs just smiled, "Both of our powers and the contributions of the new Satans made the devil populace think that the devil faction is untouchable. Then there is the status-quo of a hundred years that we are … were able to uphold, which made the general devils content with the way things are. Then there is 'The Evil Pieces' that had changed the definition of 'Strength' for the next devil generation."

"You feared that we would turn out like the old devils?" Ajuka finally pieced it together.

"Not as bad as them, but I had a feeling that if nothing drastic happened in the next five to ten years, the devil faction would face a great danger from within." Sirzechs answered.

"Then this happened." The disdain in Ajuka's voice was very clear.

"You can get angry all you want Ajuka, but you cannot deny the results of our defeat." The tone of his best friend changed, and unwillingly it took his attention. He was the Lucifer for a reason after all, "For ages, we were trying to get the Extra Demons to join our society, but nothing was working. Then in just a week after our defeat, we were able to manage them to officially join us. As for the general devils, they hate the Avalon Empire and there is nothing I can do to change that, but at least now they know that their actions have consequences. They cannot just do whatever they want and expect to get away scot-free. And I am sure you have seen it as well."

"If you mean the recent meetings, then yes," Ajuka nodded in acknowledgment, "But they may also be plotting to do something stupid behind the curtains."

"And if they do, none of us will be there to protect them." The steel in Sirzechs's voice surprised Ajuka.

For a small time, silence lingered inside the lab before Sirzechs broke it, his voice was back to normal, "Do you know what the best part about our defeat is? The next generation learned the hard way that we, the devil faction, are not invincible. There is room for growth and improvement, there always was but they didn't see it from the right angle."

"And now they do?"

"It's only been a week, but I can see the changes in them." Sirzechs answered, "Instead of worrying about getting new pieces, Rias is training to get stronger herself. Instead of being content with what she had, Sona is now asking for advice directly from her sister. And I am sure many of the other young devils are also trying to 'Grow' under their own terms, rather than being satisfied with their current positions."

"I suppose I can see your point." Ajuka knew that there would be changes, and to be honest he could have figured all these out if he was focusing on what was happening around the devil society. But he was rather busy trying to create the perfect arm for Sirzechs these past few days. The missing arm of Sirzechs also reminded him of how he couldn't protect his best friend when he needed him.

"And also don't think that I got weaker just because I lost one arm," Sirzechs gave a mischievous smile, "I mean I have no problem temporarily creating an arm using my raw energy when I am in my demon form."

Ajuka didn't say anything, just stood there looking at Sirzechs. Finally, he replied back,

"Fuck you."

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

"You seem quite delighted."

Naruto asked the God of the storms and the seas. Currently, he along with Susanoo and Tsukuyomi were inside Amaterasu's private chamber. Well technically, all four of them were at Amateratsu's main office a few minutes ago. But Amaterasu had to switch the location since Susanoo was making too much noise.

"Why wouldn't I be, Naruto?" Susanoo laughed out loud as he again finished another glass of sake in one go, "You stomped on the devils' pride and bitch-slapped the mighty Satans. You took what you wanted without giving any fucks. And the best part," Then Susanoo pointed his index finger toward Naruto, "You did all these in front of the whole devil faction."

"You do realize that I did it only to give justice to the deceased Nekoshou, there were no other ulterior motives." Naruto sighed, "And speaking of justice, the main culprits are still out there. Until I catch them and put them six feet under, I see no reason to celebrate."

Susanoo snorted, "The Avalon Empire fucked the devil faction, that is a good enough reason for me to celebrate."

Naruto just closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. The reason why he was feeling irritated was because of how most of the supernatural world was taking this incident. He wanted justice for the Nekoshou, nothing more and nothing less. But the way the devil faction was responding to his demand clearly showed that they would rather start a war than to punish the convicts. And the actions the devil faction was taking to protect the criminals angered him to the point where he once again went against his beliefs. He took a brutal and forceful approach. Did he want it? No. But it got the job done. The problem was that most of the supernatural world was thinking that Naruto used the Nekoshou massacre incident as a catalyst to show the might of the Avalon Empire. Even a lot of the gods, goddesses and the deities of the Shinto faction were overjoyed at the actions he took against the devils, rather than focusing on the reason that made him take such actions.

"You take blunt actions for your people when it is necessary, then you become the tyrant to others," Tsukuyomi spoke, "And if you back off from stronger opposition to protect your people, then others see you as a weak leader. That is how the world is."

"I have to agree with both of my brothers here, Naruto." Amaterasu closed the report that she was reading till now, "I know why you are distressed but you also have to see it from our perspectives."

Amaterasu conjured a table beside her sofa and put the report on top of it. Then she turned to Susanoo and summoned few more sake bottles. She gave Tsukuyomi a side glance before focusing her gaze on Naruto.

"I have said it many times, but I will say it again Naruto. If you weren't here at 'The Great Faction War', the Shinto Faction would have perished just like the Celtic Faction." Amaterasu said with a soft voice.

Naruto scratched his chin. The Great Faction War, or the World War II as the humans dubbed it, was something he wasn't prepared to see, definitely not after just reincarnating. But at the same time that war taught him valuable lessons and showed him how different this dimension truly was from his own.

"We should have told the truth," Everyone shifted their focus on Susanoo who had a scowl on his face right now, "You not only saved us but took actions that made sure that the top-tier factions didn't join the war. In a way, you protected the whole world."

Naruto chuckled, "You know me Susanoo, I don't want fame or power, I never did. But I will obtain them, under my own terms, if the situation calls for it."

Susanoo just grunted at his answer and chugged down another glass of sake.

"Coming back to the topic," Amaterasu said and chuckled seeing both Naruto and Susanoo bashfully shifting their focus back at her, "In the Great Faction War, through subtle means, you showed the mid-tier factions that the Shinto Faction has a very powerful champion; a champion who will fight to his last breathe to protect us. By doing that, you showed us 'Hope'. And after many centuries later, we could finally put our faith in this 'Hope', knowing that with you by our side, we will make it to the future. Then by creating the Avalon Empire, you gave the youkai and the faeries an 'Identity'. Now they are no longer considered just monsters. They are civilized beings belonging to a never-seen-before multi-cultural Empire.

"And lastly," Amaterasu released a deep breath, not breaking the eye contact with Naruto, "To give justice to the deceased Nekoshou, you took actions that many of the gods and supernatural leaders wouldn't even dare to think. To you, the actions you took that day delivered a simple message … 'The King of the Avalon Empire will do anything to protect his citizens'. But to us, to the Shinto Faction, to the youkai and to the faeries; your actions held much more importance than you can imagine … For the first time, we can walk tall, we can stand with 'Pride', because of our king."

Amaterasu closed her eyes and paused just for a moment. Naruto could very well see that the reason she did that was to hide her emotions, not just from him but from her brothers as well.

"The reason why other supernatural factions and societies are showing their doubts is because of fear." Tsukuyomi took the spotlight from his sister, giving her time to compose herself, "You defeated Sirzechs who is ranked at the mid-level of 'The Top Ten'. And then, you went against the full might of the other three Satans along with the devil army. This clearly showed that you are amongst the top-tier of 'The Top Ten'."

"I know this," Naruto sighed, "But I just didn't think it will turn out this bad."

"It's because you came out of nowhere, brat." Susanoo snorted, "We know all the things that you have done but the rest of the supernatural world don't. You wanted things to be done subtly and without revealing your power and identity. And now that decision of yours has backfired."

"Regardless," Amaterasu took everyone's focus again, she looked much calmer now, "If the Biblical Faction doesn't take any actions, then the only faction we have to worry about is the Greek Faction."

"Ahh~ Speaking of other factions," Naruto rubbed the back of his head with one hand and summoned another report with the other, "I am thinking of creating a global organization for the supernatural world, similar to the United Nations of the humans."

And just like he thought, the three major goddess and gods of the Shinto Faction sat straighter. Even Susanoo put down the sake bottle.

But when Naruto tried to get up from his seat to give the report to Amaterasu, she stopped him.

"Why not you tell us, Naruto?" Amaterasu said as she looked at her brothers, who nodded back at her gratefully.

"If you say so, Lady Amaterasu," Naruto put the report on his lap, but he didn't open it. He didn't need to, "But first of all you should understand that the idea is still at its infant stage. There are a lot of inconsistencies …"

"Out with it brat!" Susanoo grumbled.

Naruto just gave the storm God a dry look before turning his gaze toward Amaterasu, "Look, this is just an idea, alright? I think the supernatural world needs some international rules at the very least. An alliance like the UN would be the best but I know we can't be all buddy-buddy right from the start, not at least with how the things are right now."

"So, your idea is to establish some universal rules?" Amaterasu asked.

"I don't know if any of you noticed or not but to me it feels like the supernatural world is still at medieval age. If they have power, they will do whatever they want and will go unpunished because no one can point at them." Naruto sighed, "So I think we should start with small baby steps, a few rules to distinguish what is right and what is wrong, what can be done and what is prohibited. That should reduce some of the direct and indirect conflicts."

"That is not gonna work," Susanoo groaned and leaned back in his seat.

Naruto wanted to retort but Amaterasu beat him. She spoke next, her tone was gentle but he didn't miss the hint of caution in it, "It's a wonderful idea, Naruto, but you have to see it from both sides." Naruto made a questionable face, which made the Sun Goddess explain further, "Imagine this, an event like the Nekoshou massacre happened and by twisting the rules and using the loopholes the criminals go unpunished. But because of the universal laws, you are not allowed to take direct actions. Then what?"

"I know the risks and the implications," Naruto picked up the report again, "And that is why I do not want to rush it. I want to get second opinions first before even thinking about the next stage of this plan."

"Second Opinions?" Amaterasu asked, as she delicately raised one of her eyebrows.

"Yasaka-chan is going to meet Lord Odin today. She will discuss about a possible alliance, and at the same time may bring out this topic if the situation is favorable. And I will go look for Shiva, see what he thinks about my idea." Naruto answered swiftly.

"You are way too friendly with Lord Shiva," There was no accusation in Susanoo's tone, just annoyance.

"Hey, Shiva is a wonderful guy if you get to know him." Naruto defended his friend, he really wondered why everyone was so wary of him.

"Sorry if I don't have the balls like yours to stand side by side and make jokes with one of the strongest entities in our dimension, who can destroy you with just a single thought," Susanoo replied back with a very dry tone, "You could have befriended Brahma, but no~ You have to pick the strongest God of Destruction."

"Come on, you are just overreacting. He will never do what you are thinking of." Naruto huffed. It was Sasuke incident all over again.

"Not everyone is like you, who can see beyond the titles and the facades," Tsukuyomi added his part, which did make some sense to Naruto.

"Well, whatever, here is the report." Naruto got up and gave the report to Amaterasu, "I will be on my way."

"Before you leave," Amaterasu stopped Naruto, "Just a thought, but, wouldn't it be better if you meet Lord Odin yourself?"

"In a way, I can see where you are coming from, but Yasaka-chan is way better than me at handling these kinds of things," Naruto answered with a large toothy smile.

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

Odin was outright speechless. He had lived for thousands of years but never had he seen a city of this caliber. The beauty of the city couldn't be described with words. It wasn't the unique design that caught his eye. What truly captivated him was the perfect mixture of magic and technology as well as the normal interactions he was seeing between many different races of both youkai and faeries.

The Norse God felt the flying stone plate, on top of which he and his entourage along with their guides were standing, slowly landing on another tower. And he saw who was there to greet him.

"Welcome to Amaterasu, Capital of the Avalon Empire, Lord Odin."

Yasaka, the Queen of the Avalon Empire, bowed gracefully and so did all the shrine maidens behind her.

"It's lovely to see you again, Yasaka-chan. You look more beautiful than the last time I saw you, if it is even possible." Odin laughed and ignored the vicious glare his lovely bodyguard was sending toward him.

"It is very nice to see you as well, Lord Odin," Yasaka said with a gentle smile.

Odin couldn't help but let out a small sigh. In their worlds, there were no shortages of strong and authoritative lead female figures, but all of them had issues that turned off most of the males. For example, Gabriel, one of the most beautiful females ever to exist, was religious to her core. She never belittled any other factions or Gods but her constant and over the top praises about her father and her brothers would turn off any males who weren't Christians. Then there was Tiamat. Many found her feral attitude and demi-human form quite charming, but she had a very nasty temper. There was a reason why no one could maintain a lasting relationship with her. But the Satan Leviathan was on a different league. She was very beautiful, there was no doubt about it. But she had issues, lots of issues.

Then out of nowhere, Yasaka came into the picture.

At first, everyone thought she would turn out like all others. Yes, she had her own unique charm. She would be a kind and lovable shrine maiden in front of the general people, and mature and calculating Queen in front of the dignitaries. This gap between her personas actually enticed the young males rather than pushing them away. And his son, Thor, was no exception. The Norse God also wanted his son to get married to Yasaka.

But she was already taken, and everyone realized it too late.

"Is there anything wrong, Lord Odin?" Yasaka asked as she opened a portal.

"Just admiring this magnificent capital of yours," Odin replied back while brushing his beard.

"Thank you for the compliment, Lord Odin. But," Yasaka turned toward him, "We have to owe much to our prized citizens for this."

"Humble as always," Odin laughed as he walked through the portal to enter into a big but cozy looking living room.

As they seated, Yasaka started first, "How is everyone doing?"

"Everyone is doing great, Yasaka-chan. You could come and meet them yourself though," Odin smiled.

"I do apologize for not visiting Asgard for such a long time." Yasaka said, and he could sense the sincerity from her tone. This was another reason why he liked her so much.

"But we are meeting for a different matter, aren't we?" Odin pointed out.

Yasaka didn't say anything but her demeanor showed that she wanted him to start, or more like wanted to know his opinion of the report she sent. But first, The Norse God had a question of his own, "I am quite clear about the alliance since you wrote everything in details, and I have an idea as to why you want this. But what I want to know is what do you think can be truly gained from this? And I am not talking about the ethical aspect of it."

"Before answering that question, Lord Odin, will you answer a question of mine?" Seeing him nodding, the Queen asked, "What are your people thinking about the recent event?"

The Norse God couldn't help but chuckle seeing where this was heading, but he gave an honest answer regardless, "They are trying to decipher the rank of Naruto Ōtsutsuki and how much power he truly possesses, and I am sure my people aren't the only one."

"That is the problem, Lord Odin. Everyone is putting aside the reason as to why he, and our empire, had to take such actions. I can see why they are wary of our king but it is the actions that they may take because of this is what worries us." Yasaka sighed.

Odin nodded but didn't say anything, which made Yasaka continue, "To be honest, we actually wanted our empire to be known to the supernatural world through this alliance and having a direct discussion with the Heaven Faction."

"Ahh~" Now it clicked, "In that way, everyone would have focused on the empire and its origin rather than their king." Yasaka shook her head and confirmed his opinion, "And I am guessing you would have let others know about his power through the next appearance of the Core Stone?"

"Yes, we thought that might have made him look less threatening." Yasaka answered.

"But not always things go how we want them to be," Odin's lip curved slightly.

Yasaka couldn't say anything to that.

"So, going back to the beginning," Odin leaned forward, "What do you think can be truly gained from this?"

The answer didn't come immediately, but Odin was patient. Yasaka took a minute before finally started speaking, "As much as I want to say that this alliance may help us to decrease the rising tension of other factions, I know it is not possible, not after what happened between the Avalon Empire and the Devil Faction." She paused, just to release a deep breath, "But we do believe that through this alliance we can hold of other factions from taking any impulsive actions before the next appearance of the Core Stone, which is a year away at max."

Odin nodded his head in understanding. He could see that the Avalon Empire knew that by taking such direct and vicious actions to secure the justice for its people, it indirectly provoked other factions. The actions were justified and it got the best outcome if he was being honest, but not everyone was going to see it this way. He knew that few factions would try to take advantage of this situation. And it was clear to him that the Avalon Empire didn't want this.

"It seems that you haven't lost your touch in politics, Yasaka-chan. I can see where you want to go with this. A brilliant idea to temporary keep some noisy factions in check if I say so myself. And so with full certainty, I can say this," Odin steeled his expression as he said the last part,

"The Norse Faction will humbly decline this offer."

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

"Come in."

Indra said as he reached for the beautifully decorated jug to refill his cup. He sensed the boy's excitement from the moment he entered the palace.

"Excuse my intrusion, father."

Indra watched Arjuna opening the door and entering his private office. The room hummed for a moment. It was an indication that someone has entered his private chamber, a safety mechanism.

"You are early," Indra said as he took a sip from the herbal tea.

"I have finished the assignment father. And it seems luck has favored us, we found another Longinus user." Arjuna replied back in a formal tone, standing a few feet away from his table. But Indra could see the excitement and the admiration of the boy, to the point as if his emotions were taking the form of a sparkling aura; talk about dedication.

"Sit, Arjuna," Indra conjured a chair opposite of him and pointed there.

"Thank you father," Arjuna sat down and immediately took out a report, "Here is all the information you need about the new member of the Hero Faction."

Indra didn't say anything. He just took the report and started reading it. There wasn't anything interesting written there, even the Longinus was a mid-tier one. Well, the Hero Faction already possessed three top-tier Longinus wielders along with the strongest one. So, finding anything to top that would be hard, even for Arjuna. Still, he had to admit, there could be some use of this Longinus seeing the current situation of the supernatural world.

"A job well done, my boy." Arjuna beamed at the praise. Indra put down Arjuna's report and took another one that was on his table, and gave that to him.

"Read that and tell me what you think." Indra already knew what the final outcome would be, still, he had an image to maintain.

It didn't long for Arjuna to get to the last part of the report, and the most interesting part if Indra was being honest. And just as he thought, Arjuna's eyebrows shot up and he visibly moved back when he read the final part of the report.

"It can't be!"

"But it is, my boy," Indra smiled but he was sure his smile didn't reach his eyes, "The Devil Faction was brutally defeated by this new empire. And their king, Naruto Ōtsutsuki showed enough power to indicate that he is amongst the top-tier of 'The Top Ten'. And if all the information in that report is true then he is already way stronger than me."

"But it is just a one day fight, it is not a war." For a brief moment, Arjuna lost his cool composure.

"Yes, it wasn't a war. But the reason why no one considered this as a war was because this Naruto didn't allow it to go that far." Indra immediately put up his hand when he saw the protest coming, "And that is why I think we will need to use the Hero Faction earlier than we thought."

Arjuna paused, and a moment later he sighed and bowed, "As you wish father."

With that he got up, bowed again. But when raised his head, Arjuna frowned, "Are you alright, father?"

Indra didn't say anything but just made a questionable face. And in response, Arjuna elaborated, "Your right eye has some grey spot, very subtle though."

Indra's index finger twitched at that.

"Maybe I am not getting enough sleep," Indra replied back with a seemingly tired smile.

"Do get some rest, father. I will send some more herb tea," Arjuna said politely before leaving the room.

When Indra was sure that Arjuna was gone, he got up from his chair and conjured a full body size mirror. He leaned toward the mirror and touched the corner of his right eye. The grey spot became more noticeable. With a frown, he touched the skin right below his right eye and put pressure there.

The skin cracked.

With a low growl, he put a bit more pressure dragged his finger down his cheek. The subtle crack in his skin was becoming more and more prominent. He closed his eyes and focused on his power. He could feel it doing its job. And when he was sure that the issue was solved, he opened his eyes and was pleased to see that his face was back to normal.

He opened his mouth wide, moved his jaw around, smiled very widely, and made many more exaggerated facial expressions. But his face remained normal.

Satisfied, he returned to his chair.

"I have to be more careful."

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **Just confirming few things before wrapping up the chapter,**

 **First, Arjuna in this chapter is not the original Arjuna but rather the reincarnation of the original, just like Cao Cao. As for Indra, just wait and see.**

 **Second, I know a lot of the readers want to see big fights but I will write this arc differently. The reason is, every action has consequences and that includes Naruto's as well. So, I will try to write the fights and the events in this arc differently. And just to let all of you know, the layout of this whole arc is done. So hopefully, I will be able to update in every two weeks or so, if there is no issues.**

 **Third is I am planning to show that in the World War II, some of the factions were greatly involved. Hence, in the supernatural world it is known as The Great Faction War.**

 **Lastly would be that most of the pantheon gods, if not all, will be OC or taken from DXD universe with different characteristics. Yes, some of the gods and factions may be** ** _inspired_** **by other universes. And what I mean by 'inspire' is that I may take some ideas and characteristics but I will rewrite them with my own words to match my story.**

 **Also, if there are any questions, feel free to ask. I will try my best to answer them.**

 **So, I guess that's it for now. Later~**


	7. Chapter 7

**Now, before you all raise your pitchforks, stones and fire, let me explain what went wrong. Yesterday I deleted the old chapter 08 in order to upload the new and actual chapter 08 today. I didn't know that deleting a chapter actually gives your story the 'Update' status. For this, I apologize.**

 **Also, I do not have internet. I am using my limited mobile data and using hotspot to do my fanfic works (upload, research, answering PM). So if I am not answering any particular review or PM, it is not that I am ignoring any of you. I just want to make that clear.**

 **As for the urgent issue, it is on my profile page now. I only wanted to help that person. I am sorry if anyone took it the wrong way.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **Gods & Monsters**

 **II**

"Long time no see, Michael," Azazel stopped his greeting mid-way to give the Archangel a complete look-over, "Still wearing that same old bulky attire I see. You should try wearing the casual human clothes sometimes. They are very comfortable I assure ..."

"It has been a while, _brother_ ," Michael, the current leader of the Heaven, didn't let him finish.

This made Azazel to completely drop his sloppy attitude. He took another good look at Michael and immediately knew that something was wrong, very wrong. For starters, Michael would only address him as brother if the archangel was feeling utterly lost. Also he would never interrupt someone, no matter who it was, unless it was absolutely necessary. And even though the archangel looked the same as usual, Azazel could see that his eyes didn't have their usual spirit.

The last time he saw him like this was when they had lost their father.

Without a word, Azazel waved his hands and not a moment later, they were teleported to his private chamber. He didn't even ask or pointed at the guest chair, Michael sat on his own.

"Is this going to take long?" Azazel asked, pointing at his personal whiskey cabinet.

"I … don't know," Michael answered.

"Argh~" Azazel just groaned. He took out few strong wines of his personal choice from the cabinet, since he now knew for sure that whatever Michael had to say would no doubt turn his world upside down.

When Azazel sat down on his chair, opposite of Michael, he didn't say a word. And just as silently, he filled his wine glass and drank its content. It wasn't before Azazel finished half a bottle of Hellblazer when Michael finally lost his patience and broke the silence.

"Do you think our father truly died that day?"

Azazel spewed out his drink, from his mouth and his nose. It wasn't a good sight. His brother's words caught him so off-guard that he literally sat still, not knowing what he should do next when it was crystal clear; get a handkerchief and clean the mess.

He could feel the gears on his brain slowly restarting. But the moment he saw Michael opening his mouth again, he swiftly motioned him to stop. After the spectacular way his brother started the conversation, Azazel knew he had to take control over the conversation. Otherwise his whole wine cellar wouldn't be enough to calm his nerves if Michael continued. He sighed and took out a handkerchief to clean his face.

Silenced reigned again as no one knew what to do. But after a few minutes later, Azazel decided to speak, "Why not you just tell me what is _truly_ bothering you? No need to beat around the bush."

"Have you seen Naruto Ōtsutsuki?" Michael asked, out of nowhere.

"We never met face to face, if that is what you are asking. But, I had seen lots of pictures of him." Azazel answered honestly, not knowing where this was going. But instead of continuing, Michael stayed quiet. He could see that the archangel was having problem coming up with the right words. Azazel waited a few moments before he had enough. With a frustrated sigh, he spoke up, "Just spill it out already."

"Naruto Ōtsutsuki has the eye of the one."

The governor of Grigori blinked. He tilted his head to the side and opened his mouth, but couldn't find the right words so he closed it. He repeated the process a few more times. Then finally he let out a pained groan before taking the Hellblazer bottle and directly chugging the rest of its content in one go.

"Tell me everything! Right from the start!" Azazel said, no, demanded while gritting his teeth.

Then Michael told him everything, which wasn't much to be honest. But saying he was shocked at what he heard would be a huge understatement. And for the first time in many centuries, he didn't know what to do, he felt … lost. It was as if nothing was making any sense to him anymore.

"So, what do we do now brother?" Michael asked. But the hopeful tone in his voice actually pissed of Azazel. It wasn't like he had an answer ready for everything.

"Look I am just as lost as you are," He then opened another whiskey bottle and started drinking directly from the bottle, "The information I have about is …" His own statement made him stop.

"What do you know?" Michael's impatience was clear as a day.

"This makes sense if you think about it," Azazel started speaking, but it was more toward himself rather than his brother, "He just suddenly pop out of nowhere and spanked the devil faction alone like there was no tomorrow."

"What does his violence have to do with the eye?" Michael said in a very confused tone.

"I am getting there," Azazel barked, his frustration started to sip out, "At first I thought Naruto was borne a few centuries ago, but now I can say with certainty that he was borne after the last appearance of the core stone. It makes sense if you look at the Shinto faction's history in the last eighty years or so. I thought they were growing as a faction but clearly I am wrong. It was because of their savior, champion, king … I don't know what they call him. But it's clear that it is all thanks to Naruto Ōtsutsuki that they are flourishing, whereas they should have been all but destroyed in the last faction war."

"Do you think they are nurturing him to be their next faction leader?"

Azazel sighed at the question. The answer was to that question should be very clear but it wasn't something that either of them wanted to hear. "Maybe, maybe not; but I can't say anything for sure at this point. Regardless, all we can do now is to monitor of him without raising any suspicions. The devil faction did a splendid job to earn his ire. So, we have to be careful."

Looking at his brother, he knew what he truly wanted to hear, "Look, the next appearance of the core stone is very near. I am sure he will be there as well. Maybe we can approach him at that time. But," He immediately hardened his tone when he saw the hopeful look of his brother, "We have to be very subtle about the issue when we approach him. And during this time I think both Grigori and Heaven faction should at least try to raise some brownie points with him."

Michael laughed, it was a very dry one if he was being honest, "We do not even know where they live."

Azazel wanted to say that he knew but held his tongue. After all, he needed to have some of his own questions answered, and he knew it was better not to involve the Heaven faction in that. After all, it was always better to be safe than sorry.

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

Naruto was completely lost.

Yasaka's briefing about her meeting with the leader of the Norse Faction was nothing but perfect. But even with her wonderful briefing and reading it on the report several times, Naruto just didn't know why Odin outright rejected the alliance. He had utmost confidence in Yasaka, and the fact that even she failed to persuade the Norse God meant that something was wrong. They were missing something vital.

But what?

"Naruto," Hearing Jiraiya's voice Naruto looked at his mentor, "I know that this rejection is quite confusing but sitting here quietly isn't going to get us anywhere."

That woke up Naruto, somewhat. He exchanged glances with rest of the occupants inside the room before he sat straighter and waved his hand, "Please, if anyone has anything regarding this matter, share your perspectives."

Jiraiya, August, and Kisuke shared glances amongst them. Yasaka, though, sat still and was quiet. She started this meeting and now she was indirectly letting someone else to take over. And it was Jiraiya who took the spotlight, "I am not sure as to why Odin rejected our offer. But I think I have some theories as to what his warning 'the wolves and the hyenas woke up from the slumber' meant."

"Is he implying that the Greek faction is up to no good again?" August scowled.

"Yes and No," Jiraiya sighed, "He said 'the wolves and the hyenas' meaning it's not just the Greek faction we are dealing with."

"Are you sure that we are the target, Lord Jiraiya?" Kisuke interrupted, "I am not flaunting our king's strength, but his powerful and vicious response toward the devil faction should have served as a clear cut warning to everyone else."

Jiraiya turned to Naruto from Kisuke, "Just an assumption, but I think what most factions truly fear about Naruto is their lack of knowledge regarding Naruto's origin and his power, rather than his actual might."

Naruto frowned at that, "So you are telling me that most of the factions are losing their shits is because that they do not know about me? What's the solution then, hold a tea party or something?" Naruto snorted at the end, "This is ridiculous."

"Is it?" That took everyone's attention to August, "I think I am finally starting to understand Jiraiya's point of view," Both he and Jiraiya shared a quick glance and nodded, before August continued, "For us, we know your true origin. And we know what you will do and will not do with your power. But unlike us, the rest of the world had to face your overwhelming presence in the one of the worst way possible. I think most of them understand a part of your intentions, but at the same time they also know how far you are willing to go to protect those intentions."

"And I am trying to rectify that here." Naruto groaned, "That is why I want to talk with other Gods or faction leaders."

"You are missing the key point here, Naruto," Naruto turned toward Jiraiya. His mentor paused for a moment before continuing, "For that plan of yours to work, other factions have to be willing to listen."

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, but just for a moment, before his scowl returned. But Kisuke took the attention and said exactly what he wanted to say, "So, the other faction leaders deliberately keeping the distance even though we are trying to solve the issue for them? Is that why Lord Odin rejected our offer?"

"Let's look at this from a different perspective, shall we?" Jiraiya leaned on his seat, arms folded over his chest. A gesture Naruto knew too well, it seemed his mentor was also very pissed at the situation, "Since the creation of the core stone, the very first two spots have never been touched. The Trimurti held the first place, and the Four Horsemen held the second, in the top ten rank. Rest of the spots would always jiggle around depending on which faction was the strongest at that time. And then, Khaoss came into the battlefield. He took the third spot and even after a thousand year, no one could take that spot from him."

Naruto wanted to know where Jiraiya was going with this, and from the look he got from Kisuke and August, it seemed he wasn't alone. But no one dared to interrupt the youkai sage.

"No one knows the origin and the true power of Khaoss. Even though everything about him is still shrouded in mystery, he didn't make a grand entrance like you Naruto. The first time everyone learned about his existence when his name came out in the core stone as he took the eighth spot. Next time, he took the seventh spot; then the fourth spot, and finally the third spot." Naruto just became more confused at Jiraiya's explanation. And it seemed his mentor also saw his frustration, "What I am trying to say here brat, is that Khaoss is considered one of the most mysterious beings. But even he took four hundred years to reach the third spot, meaning the supernatural world had four hundred years to gather information about him. But you topped him by a long margin. Out of nowhere you made your grand entrance and beat the shit out of Sirzechs and Ajuka, who according to the last appearance of the core stone, held the sixth and the seventh spot respectively. So even though none of us knows your exact ranking but it is safe to assume that you are as strong as Indra, the fourth-ranked, maybe stronger."

"So, if our king starts from the fourth rank, going by Khaoss's approach …" Kisuke turned toward Naruto.

"There is a chance that I can surpass the Trimurti." Naruto rubbed his forehead.

"It seems their fear of the unknown is keeping them away from us." Naruto knew August didn't mean that it was his fault but one fact was clear.

Once again, everyone was preparing for the worst just because of their lack of knowledge regarding certain things. And once again, he could clearly see how this situation was going to escalate when the peaceful solution was right in front of them. Instead of taking up arms and strengthening their bases right from the start, just held a formal meeting. If the leaders feared for the worst, then they should just send someone trustworthy in their place.

But all of his thought processes stopped as Yasaka lightly clapped her hands, taking the spotlight in an instance, "I think we are going about this in the wrong way."

Naruto leaned toward his gorgeous wife, "Yasaka, please, share your thoughts."

Yasaka gently smiled back at him before she slowly stood up. Immediately everyone, including him, sat straighter and gave her the undivided attention that she silently demanded.

"First, I want to start by a simple question. Why do you all of you think that we, the Avalon Empire, are the target?"

Whatever Naruto had in mind, this was certainly not it. And from the looks he saw on Jiraiya, Kisuke, and August, it seemed they felt the same.

"Let's go with the last topic, the top ten list," Yasaka swept her gaze over the table, "According to the last appearance of the core stone, these beings were on the list; the Trimurti, the Four Horsemen, Khaoss, Indra, Amun-Ra, Sirzechs, Ajuka, Thor, Hades and Lugh. But our king had soundly defeated two of the mid-tier rankers, which indicates that he will surely be on the high-tier ranks. That means someone has fallen from the list. And if we see it from a different perspective, it means that there is a high possibility that one or maybe few factions out there have weakened."

Yasaka stopped. Naruto could see that she wasn't finished, but was grateful for the break. It gave him enough time to process her words, enough time to get the full picture which his wife was trying to show.

"A cold war," It looked like Naruto wasn't the only one. He shared a frustrated glance with his mentor.

This was not good.

"As we all know," Yasaka words again took the attention of everyone, "Unlike the Biblical Faction and the Hindu Faction, the mid-tier factions tend to take a very aggressive indirect approach in terms of war and conquest. The Great Faction war is the biggest example. So, here is what I believe. We all know for sure that the core stone will appear in a year or so. Most, if not all, mid-tier factions will use this chance to increase their strength during this one year. And when everyone gathers at the core stone, they will not only see the new ranking but will also have an idea as to which faction has lost in the power-struggle; ultimately making that faction as the 'Target'."

When Yasaka was done, she looked around and giggled into her hand, "Do not look at me like I know which faction will fall, I am not a seer."

This should have loosened up the tension a bit, but it didn't. Because to Naruto, this was the worst possible outcome. But at the same time, it made perfect sense. None of the mid-tier factions were stupid; otherwise, they wouldn't have survived this long after losing so many of their believers. There was no way they would want any sort of confrontations with him or their empire after what they did to the devil faction. But that didn't mean they wouldn't smartly exploit this chance.

"So, we can assume that this is the main reason the Norse faction rejected our alliance?" Naruto asked as he leaned onto his seat.

"Odin will always put his faction first before anything else, just like any other faction leader," Yasaka answered swiftly.

The silence lingered for a single minute before Naruto fired his next and the most important question, "So, what should we do now?"

"Well, I can tell you what we shouldn't do. And that is for you, my king, not to go out there and flex your powers again to try to solve any problems during this time, even if these problems are aimed at us. If I am right, then most of the factions that are taking up arms to use this chance to boost their strengths will take an indirect approach; their actions will be very aggressive but indirect nonetheless." Yasaka's swift response caught Naruto off-guard. He honestly thought that no one would have an answer to his question. But Yasaka proved him wrong, and he was glad that she did. But, at the same time, she created many more questions.

"We are still back to square one, Yasaka," Naruto pointed out.

Jiraiya suddenly snapped his fingers, drawing the attention of everyone else, "Of course! We play by their rules."

It took a few seconds for Naruto to actually see what Jiraiya meant, and what Yasaka was trying to say. The revelations made Naruto slouch on his seat, another war.

"Naruto," Jiraiya leaned toward him, his hands resting on top of the table, "I know you do not like these kinds of tactics but if we do this right, we can probably stop a war from breaking out."

Naruto knew what Jiraiya was implying, he could even tell what Jiraiya would say to him later, but, "What about the cold war during this one year?"

That shut up the youkai sage.

"My king, if you want to stop all the conflicts, then you either take total control over all the factions, or become so powerful that no one would dare to go against your words, or just turn your head away from all of these," Yasaka's words actually made Jiraiya, August, and Kisuke look back at her in surprise, though Naruto could see the wide grin in Jiraiya's face. But his wife wasn't done, "Or you could stand tall and keep fighting for your belief. We trusted the devil faction and the Nekoshou clan paid the price. But we didn't sit silently at this. We took the justice for them, you personally made sure of it. Unfortunately, the confrontation between our empire and the devil faction created an opportunity for 'the wolves and the hyenas'." This statement made several eyebrows to shot up, but the queen wasn't done yet, "Yes, currently we are powerless to stop this but that doesn't mean we are powerless to force the outcome to our likings. And yes, we have to take actions that are suspicious, actions that go against our beliefs. But at the end, it is the final result we should care about."

Yasaka then fully turn toward him, "So what will it be my king? We let the wolves and hyenas freely roam and make a mess of the jungle? Or we show them that there is a bigger predator lurking in the shadows?"

Naruto was stunned, and so was the rest.

It was Jiraiya who composed himself first, "An awesome speech right there, if I do say so myself. Since you took the limelight of this meeting, what are your suggestions Lady Yasaka?"

Naruto snapped his jaw and leaned forward, so did August and Kisuke. Yasaka again swept her gaze over the table before her eyes landed on Jiraiya, "I am somewhat modest when it comes to politics," Her statement earned a loud snort from Naruto but she continued regardless, "But when it comes to military strategy, you three are on a different level."

"If you are asking for our suggestions and ideas, then I think it is better if we take some time to think about it," Naruto sighed. Although he didn't get any concrete solutions but at least they were on the right path.

"Before we end the meeting, there is something else I would like to state," With that Jiraiya stood up, which in turn made Yasaka to take back her seat. But unlike Yasaka, Jiraiya didn't wait and dived right into the point, "Naruto, I think I figured out a way to fix your chakra network issue."

Needless to say both August and Kisuke was up on their feet. Even Yasaka lost her cool composure.

As for Naruto, he released a long breath through his mouth.

"I need ramen."

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

The slow chuckle soon turned into a full blown laughter as Ares put down his cell phone. He had to give it to Athena, she was more of a warmonger than him when she wanted to be. Fortunately for her, their uncle's and his own direct and aggressive involvements would overshadow her achievements even though most of the times she was the main mastermind; something that she had no problem with. Of course, she would always justify her actions saying that it was for the greater good of the Greek faction.

Well, in a way, she was right and at the same time she was doing a far better job than their father.

Of course, their father was still the leader of the Greek faction, but it was just an empty powerless position. And Zeus had no one to blame but himself. That one decision of Zeus brought the whole Greek faction to its knees. They lost most, if not all, of their believers; they lost the Titans and the worst of all, they lost the Mount Olympus. And with it, a lot of the Greek gods and goddesses lost their divine authorities. They would have been all but perished. But their faction was given one last chance.

Ares couldn't help but grimace as he remembered the fated day.

Around four hundred years ago, the Greek faction discovered an object with absolute power. At first, they thought they were the only one but it wasn't the case. Most of the Godly factions received one as well. The easiest one to notice was the Norse faction.

Odin used their artifact to craft a new weapon for his son, Thor. Maybe he fused the old weapon Mjölnir and the artifact itself; no one knew for sure which method he took. But everyone knew the end result of it. Thor got a new weapon called Stormbreaker and because of that weapon he became stronger than his father, Odin, and secured a spot in the top ten list.

Needless to say, Zeus wanted to do the same. He wanted to completely absorb the artifact's power for himself. And Poseidon wanted the power to be split equally between Zeus, Hades and him. But it was Athena who came up with the best solution. She wanted to use the artifact's power to allow all the Greek Gods and Goddesses to have children with the mortal, no restrictions. Her aim was since they were unable to increase the follower number indirectly, they would create their own followers directly. Of course she pointed out that the result wouldn't be shown in a decade or two, it would take time. And if it worked out then the whole Greek faction would regain back a large amount of their lost powers.

Everyone, even Hades, agreed to it; but not Zeus.

Ares groaned as his finger traced the deep scar on his naked chest. The large lightning shaped scar started from his left collarbone and ended at his right hip, the only scar that till now he couldn't remove from his perfect body.

"Father,"

Even though his son was silent and completely removed any kinds of traces of his power, Ares still felt him coming inside the room. After all, he was the one who taught him everything, "Cane, report."

Cane, from his kneeling position, conjured three reports in front of him, "The Norse faction has closed off its borders just like you suspected. The Celtic faction and the Egyptian faction have begun their advances, though they are trying to be subtle about it."

"And what of the Shinto faction?"

His son's silence was all the answer Ares needed. As usual, Cane had nothing on them. The old him wouldn't have hesitated to shorten the distance between them and kick his own blood without holding back, a punishment for his failure. But Ares had changed, he had to if he wanted his plans to succeed. He was still prideful and arrogant, something which wasn't going to change in this lifetime. But he learned not to throw a tantrum or flex his powers when things wouldn't go his way.

"I see three reports there," Ares asked, moving away from the sore topic.

Still kneeling, Cane put his right hand on the first report, "This one contains all the information my team could gather about the current movements of the Norse faction and the Egyptian faction. I also included a few mission reports regarding the Hindu faction."

Ares narrowed his eyes at the last part, "I thought I told you not to tangle yourself with the Hindu faction."

"My apologies, but I can assure you that these indirect confrontations weren't done from our side. Of course, we immediately evacuated our troops from those areas."

Now, _this_ was concerning. For the last four hundred years, Indra was taking out the oppositions inside the Hindu faction and was trying to unite the whole faction under him. At least, this was what looked like from an outsider's point of view. But he wondered what Indra's true aim was. Regardless, the Greek faction wasn't in any position to interfere. But one thing was clear, Indra's recent actions had something to do with the Hindu faction's artifact.

"Move on,"

Cane nodded his head and then pointed at the next report, "This has all the names of the Celtic champions and the recent actions of the Celtic Gods. It seems they are not as subtle as other factions, hence it was easy for us to get access to all these."

"Ohoo~" Ares couldn't keep his smile down, "They are desperate." Ares waved his hand and the report appeared in front of him. But he didn't open it. He would take his time to check this thoroughly.

"And the last one?"

"This is about … Khaos Brigade." Cane hesitated, but just for a fraction of a moment.

"Another faction popped out of nowhere?" Ares growled.

"If I am being honest here, father, I wouldn't call this one an actual faction," Cane's hand was resting on top of the last report, "This is more like a terrorist organization."

His anger was replaced with curiosity at his son's statement, "Elaborate."

"There is no structure in this … organization. All you have to do is to report to the leader, unfortunately we couldn't determine who it is. And currently this organization is working as an asylum to most of the factional criminals."

This was an interesting news to Ares, but "Can we use them?"

"I need a bit more time before I can give you a definite answer." Ares wasn't disappointed at his son's reply.

"Will they interfere with our current plan?"

Cane shook his head, "They are just newly established group. There is a chance that some of the members may cause small issues here and there, but I believe they lack the power and the resources to pull anything major."

A satisfying answer, but still he had to make sure to cover all grounds. After all, chances like these wouldn't come so often, "I will look into the Celtic faction personally. As for the rest, just monitor them. What about the Olympus Brigade."

"Ready to be deployed at your command," Cane answered swiftly.

"Good, keep it that way," Then Ares waved his hand, "You are dismissed."

Cane stood up but didn't leave immediately, which in turn made Ares frown, "What is it, boy?"

"Do you want me to dispose of them?" Cane stated.

It took just a second for him to realize who Cane was pointing at. The two blonde whores he picked up at the bar were lying motionlessly on the bed. He couldn't help but sneer as his eyes landed on their naked body. He thought that they would at least be somewhat decent to sire his children. But he was so wrong. A few thrusts and they were screaming their lungs out as if they never experienced an orgasm. And an hour later, they were nothing but a quivering mess. He wondered why he picked them in the first place.

"Do whatever you want," Ares growled.

As Cane approached his bed, Ares saw the reason as to why he picked them, "Cane."

"Yes father," His son stopped and turned toward him immediately.

"Prepare a rounded battalion of your choice from the Olympus brigade and wait for my command." Ares didn't wait for his son to reply back as he teleported back to his temple.

The first thing Ares wanted to do when he appeared in his empty private chamber was to lash out. But he didn't. He took some calming breaths and kept reminding him that he wasn't the old Ares. Because the old Ares was incapable of achieving what he desired. Because if he remained as the old Ares, he would eventually meet his father's fate.

Ares could do nothing but pity his father, of what he had become now. But at one point, he revered the man. His father, Zeus, had everything; the throne, the power, the authority. And he desired everything Zeus had. Fortunately, all he had to do now was to be patient, and all of these would come to him on its own. But there was one thing that he was being denied of.

The Queen.

He envied how his father found the perfect woman, the perfect queen to stand by his side. Not only his mother had the elegance of a queen but also the wits. And that wasn't the best part. No matter how many times Zeus cheated on his queen and indulged himself into debauchery, Hera wouldn't turn away from him. Heck, Ares just couldn't figure out why his mother remained so faithful to his father till now. But he wasn't complaining, rather he wanted someone exactly like her.

At first, Ares thought Aphrodite was the one. But he was wrong. Yes, she was one of the most beautiful women he had seen but that was just it. The sex with her was satisfying but there was no connection between them. She was a free-spirited goddess who had no problem having few lovers even while she was married. No, she wasn't the queen he was looking for. He searched for his queen throughout the world, and the realms; for ages. Finally, he had found her, the perfect queen.

Even though she would usually be very well dressed, she could never hide her figure that easily matched Aphrodite's. Her sun-kissed blonde hair and equally enchanting eyes were a sight to see. And even though she was the acting ambassador of the Shinto faction as well as the leader of a youkai faction, unlike any other Greek goddesses, she wore simple but elegant attires. It was the way she walked, the way she held herself showed her position, her value, her charisma.

At the very first glance, Ares knew he wanted her. And this desire kept growing the more he saw her. Of course, he could clearly see that there were many others who wanted to be her suitor. And that angered him. She was his; she was supposed to be his.

And yet, this youkai king came out of nowhere and took her away.

Ares was so enraged that he almost broke the treaty; as if that treaty was doing anything in the first place. But Athena persuaded him to think rationally rather than acting rashly. And hearing about the recent events, he was glad that he took the wise choice and listened to his sister.

But that didn't mean he was giving up.

Ares waved his hands and immediately various weapons appeared in front of him. He couldn't keep his grin down when he felt the power radiating from each of his unique weapons.

Yes, her husband might be ranked on the high-tier in the top ten list, but so was Zeus at one point. And it didn't stop his father from falling.

Ares knew he just had to be patient. Even if he could never reach the level where Naruto Ōtsutsuki currently was, there were other ways to bring down the mighty ones. Because, one way or another, Yasaka would be his.

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **I hope most of you are happy with the final 'Top Ten' list. For those who do not know, the Trimurti are Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu. Yes, all three are taking the first spot together. Also just to be clear again, Naruto is ranked 3** **rd** **right now. But story wise no one knows about it since they didn't see it yet.**

 **I guess that's it for now, till next time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ladies and Gentleman,**

 **I LIVE! I SERIOUSLY underestimated the work life.**

 **So, here is the new chapter. It's short, I know. I wanted to write one more section but it was taking too long. So, I dropped that part for this chapter and adding it on the next one.**

 **Just a head's up, I may not be able to update as frequently as I did on the first arc. Even though that was the plan but I seriously have very little free time for the next couple of months. So it may take some time for me to update, since I do not want to rush it too much. And speaking of update, I will write the status of The Fourth Beast on my profile from now on. So, if you want to know how much I have written or if I am stuck or so on, you can check it through the profile page.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **Gods & Monsters**

 **III**

"Are you really going to start teaching me how to use my powers, dad?!" Since his daughter was sitting on top of his arms, Naruto could literally feel how excited Kunou was. And seeing how much his little girl was excited, Naruto couldn't help but let out a satisfied chuckle.

His daughter was eight years old, almost nine to be exact. She was the perfect blend between him and Yasaka. Kunou got her mother's looks and her father's wits; well … more like she got his mischievous side. But she was crazy smart, there was no denying that. His daughter was perfect in every sense, like his all other children … except for Boruto. The brat had issues.

But there was one thing about Kunou that stood out the most.

It was her eyes.

Like the Byakugan from his previous world, Kunou's eyes lacked pupils. But unlike the normal Byakugan, her irises were pure golden in color. It seemed his daughter possessed a mutated version of the Byakugan, which somehow functioned like the original. Kunou could see the energy if she powered up her eyes and she could also see different types of energy in different colors, for example, divine energy would be golden and youkai energy would be purple. But other than seeing the energy and differentiating them, they didn't know what else she could do.

Jiraiya suggested that Kunou should first learn Youjutsu and get a better understanding of how other kinds of energy and magic worked before she started exploring her unique Byakugan. Naruto and Yasaka agreed to that. After that, Yasaka personally took care of their daughter's education and training. But now, it was his turn. Since according to his lovely wife, Kunou was more than ready to explore her mysterious dōjutsu.

"Of course sweetheart. After all, I promised, didn't I?" Naruto replied back with his trademark grin.

"Yes! And my dad doesn't go back on his promise!" With a cute squeal, Kunou wrapped her hands around his neck and hugged him, earning a chuckle from him.

"Now, enough about training, let's talk about something else." Naruto squeezed his daughter one last time before putting her down. After all, they were already in front of Kunou's school. If Naruto wanted, he could teleport both of them directly in front of her classroom. But he chose the spot in front of the school gate so he and Kunou could walk rest of the distance. After all, taking Kunou to school was something that he immensely enjoyed.

She pouted cutely as her feet touched the ground, but didn't say anything. She couldn't. Since Yasaka was very strict about maintaining their image out in the public. Just remembering her words made Naruto snort. The whole city already knew that their princess had their king wrapped around her cute little fingers, and he was proud of it. After all, his perfect little princess had every right to boss him around.

"You want to know how Shirone is doing in school?" Kunou asked as she took his hand and started walking.

This was the reason why he would say that his little girl was crazy smart, "Yes Kunou, how is she doing?"

"She is still very quiet but I can see she is feeling better than before. She also started to openly state her opinions, although most of the time it is just 'yes' and 'no'. But do not worry father. As the class rep and as her friend, I will make sure she is enjoying her time in the school." Kunou answered, politely since they were in public.

"I am glad that you are looking after her, Kunou." Naruto smiled at his daughter proudly.

Kunou puffed up her chest and tilted her face up, "As the future Queen, it is my duty to protect the happiness of the people."

Naruto knew that her daughter was trying to imitate her mother's elegant queen pose. But instead of looking elegant, she looked cute, too cute. So, with one sweep Naruto picked Kunou up again and hugged her tightly, eliciting a squeak from her which soon turned into giggles.

A moment later, he let her down and sent her off. Naruto knew that he was going to get an earful from his wife about this. But this worked just fine for him. After all, if Yasaka was riled up too much, she would be that much proactive in bed. Maybe he could also entice her more by saying that Kunou needed a sibling. After all, Boruto had Himawari.

"My king."

Naruto's happy imagination came to a stop. He didn't mind though since he sensed August the moment he appeared in the area. That was why Naruto didn't immediately leave the school ground and waited for August to approach him.

"What is the matter, August?" Naruto looked at some of the youkai parents passing by. Usually, those who didn't have strong sense wouldn't notice him unless he would want them too.

"May I have a bit of your time?"

Naruto stared at August for a moment before nodding; and not a second later, both of them were in one of Naruto's private chamber. This room was a bit special as Naruto created this one to have informal private meetings, only with his close aides.

He pointed a seat for August before taking the one opposite of it.

And then minutes passed by but no one spoke up. After another moment of silence, Naruto sighed, "August, whatever you have in mind, just let it out. By now you should know that I have no problem with blunt questions, especially if they are from the prime minister."

"I know, but" August hesitated for a second, "My questions this time may be a bit personal, my king."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that statement, "August, if there is something worrying you, don't bottle it up. You know that I don't like it. And if these questions are too personal, which I know they won't be, I will not give the full answer."

August nodded and smiled wryly at his answer. His eyes moved down, just for a moment, before they caught Naruto's eyes. There was no more hesitation in his gaze, "My king, may I be bold enough to ask why you are so interested in creating an alliance between the middle-rank factions?"

Naruto was surprised at the question. But he didn't say anything. His silence made August explain further, "My king, I know that you follow some certain ideals, ways of life. These ideals are one of the foundations that created this empire, these ideals are the reason I am sitting here. But I … we all know that if the situation calls for it, you will not hesitate to put aside these ideals to protect what is important. But what I want to know is why you insist these ideals upon those who have no wish to follow them? Or worst, those who will not hesitate to take advantage of these ideals."

August paused for a moment, and just for a split second Naruto noticed how his eyes wavered, "My king, I think you should reconsider your interest in creating this alliance. I fear that if you go through this, somewhere in the future a similar incident like 'Nekoshou Massacre' may happen."

Naruto's expression remained blank. The reason was that he knew about this. After all, he was the Hokage for around thirty years. He had tons of experience dealing in similar situations. But still, to hear this from his prime minister and in such bold words actually struck few cords, "I understand your fear August. Trust me when I say that I thought about this long and hard. I know about this possibility and I also know for a fact that our ideals will be looked down upon by a lot of beings. But because of this reason, I want to have this alliance. I do not want them to follow our morals and principles but I do want to establish some general rules."

"But don't you think that many of them will try to exploit these rules?"

"Of course they will try."

Naruto's swift and frank answer shocked August. Releasing a deep breath, Naruto continued, "August, do you know why I want to establish these rules?"

"To give us and those who accept this alliance some forms of protection," August answered, his voice quieting down at the end.

"That is one part of it, yes," Naruto gave a dry smile, "But the other part, the unspoken part is to give us, the Avalon Empire an edge against other factions."

August visibly shook at his answer, it was understandable. Regardless Naruto continued, "This is something me and Jiraiya are still working out, so that is why I didn't tell you or Yasaka about it yet."

"What kind of edge?" August asked as he quickly regained his composure, the shock was now replaced with curiosity.

Naruto hesitated. But a few seconds later, he sighed. There was no point in hiding it from August since he had come this far, so he started his explanation, "Jiraiya and I always wanted to recreate the shinobi force from our previous world. But it is not possible as these two dimensions are vastly different. Still, both of us managed to create an altered version of the shinobi force through the Anbu and the Biju. They are not perfect yet but they are almost there. Give them few more years and we suspect they will become the strongest army of this dimension."

August didn't say anything but his expression clearly said that he was still confused. That made Naruto chuckle, "You are probably thinking why all of this is necessary when we have Naruto Ōtsutsuki, one of the high ranked of the top ten."

It took a second for August to digest those words, and immediately he shouted, "My king, I would never think like that!"

"Calm down, August," Naruto smiled, "You are not the first one to think like that or something along that thought." Seeing August calming down, Naruto continued, "Maybe a story from my old world will help."

"As you know, in my previous world there were five main nations, along with many smaller ones. Usually, it is the leaders of these nations who are the strongest and holds most of the power. But one time an exception was born. A leader of a small nation acquired so much power that he openly and boldly challenged the five nations. He became so powerful that he could repel the full force of huge well-organized armies all alone. Slowly, his people started to worship him as a god. But time and time again our world showed that there was no such thing as absolute power." Naruto paused, as his eyes darted to the mirror on one end of the room. He looked at the reflection of his eyes for a moment, before he continued, "That leader was defeated when he directly attacked one of the major nations, alone. And after he fell, his land was torn apart by those who resented him and those who wanted his treasures … within weeks."

"You think we rely on you too much?"

Naruto chuckled hearing his prime minister's words. The man was quick to notice the hidden messages, he had to give it to him, "The army of the Avalon Empire went toe to toe with the devil faction's. But no one remembers it. Our generals fought theirs in equal terms and came out top. But no one talks about it. All everyone, every single being around the world and the realms, remembers is that Naruto Ōtsutsuki single-handedly defeated all the Satans. All they see is only me, one pillar holding the empire, when the truth is so far from it. But what worries me is that not just the enemies but my people also see me as an unbeatable guardian deity, an absolute king. I do know that most do not blindly rely on me, but I have seen that quite a lot do. And that is wrong."

August opened his mouth, but no words came out. He blinked several times before his shoulder slouched.

"You and many of the Bijus seemed to think that our empire can now be considered as one of the high-rank factions, heck even Lord Susanoo completely believes it and so do many other Shinto Gods and Goddesses. But that is not true." Naruto raised his hand when he saw August verbally wanting to protest, "Let me give you another example … well, it's more of an event simulation if you will. What if the devil faction actually took smart and planned steps to go all out against us? During the confrontation back then, Jiraiya and I came up with the worst possibility, the one single route which could have completely destroyed the Avalon Empire. Keep in mind that the chance of the devils doing that was almost zero percent; keyword … almost."

Naruto could practically see the nervousness and the tension from August. Regardless, with a wry smile he continued, "Once again this is just an assumption, but what if Ajuka found a way to incapacitate me. Let's just say he used everything he had, his life and his knowledge, to imprison me. For argument's sake, let's say he succeeded but I am imprisoned only for a day. We know that the might of our army can overcome theirs, but can you say the same if their army was led by Sirzechs Lucifer himself? Can you come up with anything … any way to stop Sirzechs without me?"

Naruto sighed when he saw how distressed August looked. The old man looked like he was going to have a heart attack if he pushed too far. Unfortunately, August needed to hear this. "I will always be there when my people need me, no matter what. But that doesn't mean they should use my status and power to take the easy way out. I do not want them to think that I am invincible so it is alright to always rely on me. You know that in the Great Faction War, even though our side prevailed, even though I won all the battles, Izanagi had the last laugh."

August remained quiet. Naruto could see that the old man wanted to say something, anything, but he was struggling with finding the right words. So, he decided to make it easy for his prime minister, "Despite saying all of this, I do want our empire to reach the High rank," Seeing the surprised look on August, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, "August, just because I prefer peace over might, do not think that I am naïve. I know that no matter how powerful one's words and morals are, they need strength and power to protect those words and those who follow them. But they cannot rely on one person for that, no matter how strong he is."

"My King," August looked uncertain, "How do you think we can reach the High rank … from your point of view?"

"Just see the other High-rank factions. Since their birth, the Biblical Faction and the Hindu Faction always remained on the top and unchallenged. The Biblical Faction has five beings on the very top of the Top Ten and the Hindu Faction has three. Well recently Indra, Sirzechs and Ajuka's entrance to the Top Ten made these two factions more untouchable … and incomparable." Naruto explained.

"So … it is impossible for us?" August asked, his gaze filled with sadness and defeat. Naruto knew that the old man was thinking like the rest, that to call their empire one of the High-rank factions they need multiple individuals making their way to the Top Ten spots. Anyone would think that given the example, well anyone except him and those who came from the elemental nation.

"My dear prime minister," Naruto gave his signature playful grin, "The question you should be asking is that how can we bypass this obstacle?"

Seeing the surprised and hopeful look on August made Naruto laugh out loud.

"Remember August, I am known as one of the most unpredictable King for a reason."

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

"When did you join the Hero faction?"

Ajuka let out a tired sigh when he heard the question. He wanted to do something more productive than babysitting the newcomers, like looking for the old relics of the Hindu mythology. But he couldn't. No matter how much he disliked the Hero faction and its members, he had to play his part. But, he had a valid reason for his dislike though.

The Hero faction was one of the most disorganized groups he had ever seen. And if there was any other group more disorganized than this, then it was the Khaos Brigade itself. But regardless of the many flaws Khaos Brigade had, it didn't change the fact that it was founded by Ophis, the Beast of Infinity. And it also didn't change the fact that many powerful individuals gathered here. So, he joined the Hero faction under Khaos Brigade to see what was going on.

But honestly, he didn't expect this. To put it bluntly, it was a mess. There was no definite leadership. Most of the strong individuals formed their own groups and were doing their own things. But he still stayed, because he needed to dig out information on some specific individuals. Unfortunately for him, it was taking longer than he expected.

Sometimes, being a spy was just too tiresome.

"I am not a founding member of the Hero faction, if that is what you wanted to know. But I was one of the very first to be recruited directly by Cao Cao," Arjuna answered coolly.

"Hmm~" The boy beside him hummed. As much as Arjuna wanted this to be the last question, he knew it wasn't. As a matter of fact, he knew exactly what the boy wanted to ask. And he didn't have to wait long.

"I heard a rumor." The boy tried to maintain his cool façade, but Arjuna could clearly see his excitement through his mask, "A rumor about you defeating our leader Cao Cao, the one who wields the legendary True Longinus. Is it true?"

Arjuna kept his face blank, but it didn't help.

"I heard that we have a fantastic training ground." The boy was stubborn, Arjuna would give him that, "As a senior, would you mind showing me how to use it?"

"Ask Georg, he will be more than happy." Arjuna stopped and turned to face the boy, "I have other matters to attend to."

The boy tilted his head, his face finally broke into a wild devilish smile, "I also heard that you take good care of your juniors. I am sure you can make some time for me." And then his smile become wider, "I don't think it should take too long."

It seemed that their newest member, Vali Lucifer, was no different than the other members. Well truth to be told, he didn't put much hope in him from the start.

" _Better to get this over with,"_ With a sigh, Arjuna cast a teleportation spell taking them both to the arena. This arena was initially created by George, but later was improved by Cao Cao and him. It was bigger than an average football stadium, and had enough enchantments to withstand large-scale battles. But this arena was strictly for one on one duels.

The moment the teleportation circle faded, Arjuna started to walk toward the red platform which was at the end of the arena, while he pointed to the other end, "Go and stand on top of that blue platform."

Without even looking back, he continued, "The rules for the duels in the Hero faction are simple. One, you do not fight to the death. Two, if you have techniques that you are not sure how they are going to work out or you have a hard time controlling them, don't use them. Three, the duels are meant for training purposes. Yes, some can be considered as honorary matches or to test self-improvement, but that's it. If you want to have a death match, staking your pride and what not, this is not the place for it."

Arjuna finished his speech exactly when he stepped inside the red platform. He turned around and saw that Vali was still standing at the same spot, looking slightly shocked.

"What are you standing there for? You want to fight me, right?" Arjuna said, a little bit of irritation finally sipped out through his voice.

It started as a low chuckle, which turned into a full blown laughter. The cool façade that Vali was wearing till now was completely shattered, as his excitement and battle-hunger became bare for the world to see. With a single jump, Vali landed on the blue platform, his eyes never leaving Arjuna's.

With a sigh, Arjuna lifted his index finger, "When the bell rings, the battle starts."

And then, five seconds later, a bell-like sound echoed throughout the arena.

"Divine Dividing: Scale Mail!"

It took Vali 2.1 seconds to fully transform into his Balance Breaker form, including his shouting time. Arjuna almost sighed at Vali's transparent weakness, shown at the very beginning of the battle no less. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one. This was a major weakness to most, if not all, Longinus wielders. They take too much time to complete their transformation, and most of them usually leave themselves very defenseless during that period. If Arjuna wanted, he could have easily finished the battle during Vali's transformation. The only reason he didn't was because he wanted to gather information on Divine Dividing, and how well Vali could use it.

The said person pointed his right hand at him and shouted, "Divide!"

Arjuna felt his power wavering very slightly, but that was it. It seemed that 'Divine Dividing' wasn't strong enough to bypass his personal skill 'The Awarded Hero'.

Unfortunately, because of the mask and the bulky armor, Arjuna couldn't tell what expression Vali was making. He thought Vali would become more aggressive, but to his surprise Vali took flight and created some distance from him.

Arjuna counted to five in his head, before Vali charged at him; his one hand engulfed in blue flame.

With just a single thought, Arjuna summoned his 'Agni Gandiva' and in one single release his bow shot out fifty flaming arrows at Vali. He waited 0.3 seconds before he fired another fifty to his right. The second wave of arrows was faster and packed more power.

What happened was, the moment Vali saw the incoming fifty arrows, he fired his flaming energy at the arrows creating a huge explosion. He immediately ducked to his left where he was met with another set of fire arrows. But because of the smoke and sound created by the explosion, he noticed the second barrage of arrows too late, and took the full brunt of the attack.

Just like what Arjuna planned.

"Half Dim …"

Arjuna didn't allow Vali to finish. The moment he noticed the dangerous change in the atmosphere around Vali, Arjuna switched his flaming arrows to one of his special ones. These arrows were not only coated with lightning magic but were also as fast as light itself. And these arrows packed three times more power than his previous ones.

He made his aim and fired one arrow, which pierced the feeble magic barrier Vali had put up and shattered his left shoulder pad, going as far as badly damaging the left wing as well. Arjuna purposely aimed slightly above his shoulder, a somewhat non-lethal area. After all, it wouldn't do much good if he accidentally sent Vali to the hospital on his first day here.

With that, Vali was down.

Unfortunately, he didn't stay down.

"You are completely slaughtering me~" Although the words of Vali portrayed a helpless situation, but his tone was telling otherwise. Even though Arjuna still couldn't see his facial expression because of the mask, he had no problem sensing the excitement coming from Vali. The boy was almost shaking with anticipation and blood-lust, even though he was barely standing with one-fourth of his armor broken.

This … was troubling.

"So the rumor is true, you defeating Cao Cao?" Vali finally stood up, but it seemed he was still having a problem moving his left arm, "If you are not answering, why not we really put it to test? Hmm~"

The barrier that Vali created this time was far stronger than the previous one. And then his whole body started to glow. It also became hard for Arjuna to get a proper reading on his power level. Granted, Arjuna didn't have much information regarding many of the Longinus, but he knew enough.

" **I, who am about to awaken,"**

Arjuna had to admit, he was impressed. As far he knew, not many wielders could use the 'Juggernaut Drive' let alone this young. For a moment, he wanted to switch his current arrows to the ones he personally received from his father. He knew they were strong enough to break through Vali's barrier. But,

" **Am the Heavenly Dragon who has taken the principles of supremacy from God"**

Arjuna looked subtly to his side. No matter how many layers of magical shroud Georg used, it was pointless. Arjuna could still sense the unique magic of Dimension Lost. He noticed it from the moment he came here. Releasing a sigh, Arjuna focused his gaze on Vali again. Since he was being watched, he shouldn't reveal too much. Meaning,

" **I envy the 'infinite' and I pursue the 'dream'"**

Arjuna lowered his bow and raised his other hand, palm facing the sky.

" **I shall become the White Dragon of Supremacy"**

"Holy Ground Expansion, Space Fixation, Divine Punishment Enforcement Period Establishment,"

" **And I shall take you to the limits of white paradise"**

"All Clear … By Shiva's wrath, your journey ends here,"

The moment Vali's chanting was done, his transformation was finished. Not only his armor was fully repaired, but he grew another 3.4 meters. And as for his power level, the difference between his Juggernaut form and his balance breaker form was utterly ridiculous. It was slightly alarming since Arjuna couldn't grasp the actual power level of Vali's Juggernaut form. And to make matters worse, the way Vali was roaring and started thrashing around indicated that he might not have full control over his Juggernaut form.

But it mattered not. Because his spell was also done,

"Pashupata"

A 4 centimeter of radius white transparent orb which was emitting black smoke appeared on top his palm. And then in an instant, the orb disappeared from his hand and reappeared in front of Vali. It hovered in front of him for 0.5 seconds.

And then everything around them turned white.

This pure white realm of absolute nothingness remained for exactly 1 second.

Then everything was back to normal.

With a sigh, Arjuna stepped forward, moving for the first time after the battle started. Even though Vali was lying on the ground in his human form completely unconscious, Arjuna still didn't disperse his bow. After all, he could still sense Georg's magic lingering. But the moment he reached Vali's unmoving body, the magic disappeared.

For the next five seconds, Arjuna didn't move. His magic was working overtime to make sure they were alone. Finally, Arjuna released a deep breath when he realized that no one else was there.

To be honest, it was getting tiring.

Sometimes he wondered, if winning against Cao Cao was worth all these troubles. Maybe if the outcome of that battle was different, his life here in the Hero faction would have been easier. But then again, his pride wouldn't have allowed him regardless. After all, he was Arjuna, son of Indra.

He looked down and couldn't help but scratch the tip of his nose,

"Now what to do with you?"

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **I know it's short but hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **Also, one thing few readers brought it to my attention is the 'Author's Note' chapter (chapter 6). Do I need to remove it? It shouldn't make any problems since it was related purely to the story (I read the rules). Still, if all of you think I should remove it then I will.**

 **Now before wrapping this up, I want an input from all of you regarding an idea. How should I put it, I want to generalize the (power) class. The only power rank class I can see is from Devil's side (Super, Ultimate and so on). But I want to improvise on it and make it as a common term throughout the factions. Here is what I came up with:**

 **The Beast class – Trihexa, Great Red, Ophis**

 **The Omni class – Biblical God, Trimurti (Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma)**

 **Supreme class – The Four Horsemen, Khaoss, Indra, Amun-Ra**

 **Super class – Sirzechs, Ajuka, Thor, Hades**

 **Then Ultimate Class, High Class and so on.**

 **Naruto and sealed beings are not stated here because putting them here will spoil a lot of things. Also, keep in mind that this is just an idea, I haven't finalized it yet. Just want to know what all of you think?**

 **I guess that's it for now. Till next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Look who's back!**

 **I know it has been a while, but I got a little break from my work. So, I am going to use this time to finish this arc. No promises but hopefully I will be able to update the next few chapters soon.**

 **Also one thing to point out, I have deleted chapter 6 which was an 'Author's note'. One more thing is those who left a review on last chapter may not be able to leave another review since technically this is chapter 9. If you really want to leave a review, you can put it under a different chapter or just pm me.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **Gods & Monsters**

 **IV**

 **Avalon Empire**

 **(11 months left till the Core Stone resurfaces)**

"You're quite late, Lord Jiraiya."

Not the greeting Jiraiya was expecting when he entered the meeting room. And he didn't even need to look at August to know that the ancient faerie wasn't happy, his tone told him quite well. The thing was even though Jiraiya knew he was at fault, the research materials he gained from the newly opened hot spring was worth every scolding.

"I like to use the term, fashionably late," Jiraiya replied back with a wide grin, "Besides isn't it a universal rule for the leading man to arrive last, hmm~"

"So, it is true that Lord Naruto and Lady Yasaka are not joining us."

Jiraiya turned toward the person and was quite surprised, "Well, I didn't think you'd be here."

Mephisto Pheles snorted, "I heed the calls when I know it is of absolute importance. After all, my time is quite precious. You should know about it the most, you skirt-chasing imbecile."

"Guilty as charged," Jiraiya mock-bowed and then swiftly went toward his seat. He wanted to finish this fast, after all his research materials were waiting. So the moment he sat down, his demeanor changed completely. And with one look, he got the attention of every single person in the room.

" _Better,"_ With that thought, Jiraiya started, "I will start with a few quick updates on my side before we move on to our main agenda for this meeting. I am sure that everyone here knows what Yoruichi has been up to. Unfortunately, her task is far from over. A few weeks back, she asked for some assistance. So I have sent Sanbi and Nibi to help her out." Jiraiya said the last part while looking at Kisuke.

"So, it is safe to assume that they will not be available to help us with our current predicament," Mephisto added, making Jiraiya turn to the old devil. But he wasn't finished, "And then Yonbi and Sanbi are retiring soon if I am not mistaken. Considering what we have to go through in the near future, doesn't the situation look quite grim?" Mephisto finished with an annoyed tone.

Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders at Mephisto's comment, "On paper it does. But in reality, it's not as bad as all of you may think."

"Care to elaborate." It seemed that the old devil wanted to cover every corner of their current situation. Not surprising considering his nature.

Jiraiya turned toward August who, releasing a sigh, intervened, "Yoruichi's mission will be over within two weeks. Even if it doesn't, she is to leave her mission and return to the capital since our current situation takes priority over everything else. As for the retirement issue, Yonbi already found his successor."

"Who is it?"

"Kuroka."

Everyone shared glances amongst each other but said nothing. But Jiraiya knew what they wanted to ask, "Don't worry, she will be going through the usual procedures to secure her spot as a Biju." That answered the unspoken concern amongst the current Bijus.

"Now another update is that our king will not be available for the next few months to personally oversee our works and reports." Jiraiya immediately put his hands to calm everyone down, "No, he is not sick or in any kind of life-endangering situation. I myself do not have the full report but Lady Amaterasu will be taking our King. All I know that she will be teaching him during that time."

Everyone relaxed at that but this was a lie. Only Yasaka, Jiraiya and August knew what truly was going on. Even amongst the Shinto faction, only Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi knew the full details. Unfortunately, the risk was too high so they decided to keep it only between the people who were directly involved.

Slowly the youkai sage stood up, immediately getting their attention again. He waved his hand and a holographic image appeared in the middle of the table. _"Oh~ The wonders of science and magic~"_

"I will not sugarcoat this Gentlemen, but the supernatural world has entered the cold war era. And this time around, there are high possibilities that multiple factions may not make it through this."

"I thought we still had some time left," Mephisto frowned.

"There isn't. The mid-rank factions have already started to make their moves, with the Greek faction in the lead." Jiraiya replied as with another wave of his hand the image started to change.

"In the lead of what?"

"In the lead of carnage count."

As if on cue, different holographic images started to appear, showing various locations. All razed to the ground.

Needless to say, the temperature of the room dropped significantly.

"Are we doing anything about this? These Greek bastards are starting to become a real pain in the ass lately." Mephisto's tone became murderous. Everyone knew that when Mephisto started cursing, it meant that the shit was about to hit the fan.

"I have sent messages to various independent supernatural clans and settlements, warning them about what is going on right now without any sugarcoating. They needed to be informed. Also, I told them directly that if they need asylums, the Avalon empire will be glad to take them in."

"Although this does sound like a peaceful approach, it raises some concerns," Kisuke added his thoughts.

"Security concerns, right?" Jiraiya then waved his hand and another picture appeared, which shocked everyone, except for August.

"Is this …"

"Yes, this is the second city that we are currently working on. The structure of this city will be more flexible to suit the needs of our new residents." Jiraiya couldn't help but keep his smile down as he enlarged the holographic image.

Kisuke stood up from his seat and started to rotate the image. Telling that he was impressed would be a huge understatement. "This is ingenious." Then he turned toward Jiraiya, "How far are we?"

"Naruto had chosen the location and already created the land for the city. Yasaka is working on the necessary enchantments and barrier designs. But the construction itself will start from next month and Yasaka will supervise the process herself." Jiraiya paused for a moment before continuing, "If all goes well, the construction should take around three to four months to finish."

"But there is more to a city than just the structures." Kisuke raised an eyebrow at Jiraiya.

"We are going off topic here. First of all, what makes you think that we will have new clans joining us?" Mephisto asked. And he got his answer when a piece of paper appeared in front of him, and everybody else.

Jiraiya gave them some time to read. And he could see everyone finally getting the picture.

"This could definitely work," Mephisto said, more to himself.

"Yes, it should. But we have to make sure everything goes exactly like it is planned if we want to achieve our desired end result of this bloody cold war." Jiraiya snapped the and the images disappeared completely. He sat down before continuing, "We need Kisuke to speed up the construction process of our second city. And we need to have Sesshomaru on standby," Jiraiya then turned toward Mephisto, "Along with Tannin, with your permission."

"You have it," Came the swift reply from the ancient devil.

"Can we know what we are to be ready for," Sesshomaru spoke up for the first time.

"Direct as always." Jiraiya smiled, "Most of the time your mission will be rescue related, with the permission to use anything and everything at your disposal."

The raised eyebrows told him that they didn't expect this answer. Nonetheless, Jiraiya continued, "August will be focusing on the political side of this war, and from time to time Yasaka will be helping him. As for you, Mephisto, Naruto thinks this is the perfect time for the merging to begin."

It took a moment before Mephisto realized the meaning behind those words. Jiraiya got to admit Mephisto looked quite funny with his eyes wide open, "He wants me to move all the Magician associations to the second city." Mephisto groaned and started to rub his forehead, "This is going to take almost a year even if everything goes accordingly."

"Then you should start asap," Jiraiya couldn't keep his smug tone down. He received a harsh glare from the old devil, but it was worth it.

"And what about you?"

Jiraiya waved his hand and holographic images of three beings appeared.

"I will be making sure that the Heaven, the Grigori and the Underworld stay out of this."

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

 **Unknown Location**

 **(6 months left till the Core Stone resurfaces)**

"Do you think we will reach there in time?" Tannin was worried, Sesshomaru understood that very well. But there was nothing he could do at this point but pray.

Five months ago, Sesshomaru learned that the supernatural world was going into the cold war era. Truth to be told, he was surprised as well as disappointed at the current turn of events. Surprised because he thought this world was more peaceful than the elemental nations. Turned out that no matter the dimension, it was impossible to get away from the clutches of war and destruction. And his disappointment came from their own strategies. Instead of taking the initiation, they were waiting for their opponents to make the first move. He understood very well what Jiraiya was trying to avoid here. He was making sure that their actions would not create any kind of possibilities which other factions especially the Biblical faction could use to directly confront them. Separated the Heaven faction, the Grigori and the Devil faction wouldn't stand a chance against them, but as a whole… that was a different story.

But the problem this time around wasn't the Biblical faction, it was the Greek faction.

It was true that other than Hades, the Greek faction didn't have any special or powerful individuals. And if Jiraiya's reports were true, then even Hades was weakening. But that didn't stop the Greek faction from being the barbaric savages they were. And the worst part, their approach at causing war and chaos were working.

"Sir,"

Sesshomaru opened his eyes to meet the wavering gaze of the inugami. He motioned with his head for him to continue. Seeing his approval the inugami began his report, "There are three aircraft carriers and four destroyers surrounding the island, and there are twelve fighter class jets circling the island."

"Humans?"

The inugami just nodded at his question.

Sesshomaru hated to admit this but the Olympians were the one of the cleverest at using their resources. From what Jiraiya was able to dig out, the Olympians put time, fortune and effort on the human armies instead of creating their own. At first, it didn't seem like a good investment but turned out they were wrong. The Olympians were using human's military technology to keep up with the other supernatural factions. They were also using the human armies as shields to cover up their supernatural acts. Most of the time their tactics worked since they would choose their target very wisely and subtly. And even if they failed, it wasn't like they were losing anything. After all, to the Greek faction the human lives were expendables.

Sesshomaru stood up abruptly, "Maneuver our ship to slip past the human ships. I will create a storm to cover your tracks." Then he turned to Tannin, "The moment you land on the island, create a safe zone to receive the dark elves."

"What about you?"

Sesshomaru just whistled and not a second later, twenty masked inugami came out of nowhere and stood behind him, "I am not waiting any longer. The distress call from the dark elves came half an hour ago. We wasted too much time to pinpoint the exact location."

With that, he disappeared along with his squad.

.

Inside the mysterious island

.

The moment Falcon-1 and Falcon-2 flew over him, Cane looked down to see his tablet. And just as he suspected, no change whatsoever.

He couldn't believe that his unit would be stopped like this. And to make matters worse, this was the last barrier left. Just after this, laid the biggest settlement belonging to the dark elves. Unfortunately though, the combination of the protective barriers was something that he hadn't seen before. It was quite ingenious if he was being honest to himself.

Cane didn't know how big was the settlement but from the scan he got the mist was covering around hundred and eighty-four square kilometers. This mist wasn't anything like the one which was surrounding the whole island. That outside mist only created a subtle illusion but the danger came from the jagged rock structures jutting out of the water. He had to admit the combination was deadly. It wouldn't be that easy for his unit to bypass that barrier if it weren't for the help of the captured dark elves. Truth to be told, the reason they came this far without any casualties was because of them. But unfortunately it seemed even they didn't know how to go through this mist.

This dense magical mist was blocking all of their attempts. It was behaving like an electromagnetic field, poisonous gas and was even generating noise that was creating confusion amongst his men. The easiest solution was to send the tanks in first and few small squads with them. But even that wasn't possible. Because the mist wasn't the only problem, the ground below them was behaving them like quicksand. And it wasn't an ordinary quicksand. It swallowed two of his tanks completely in mere minutes. From what he saw it seemed that someone from the other side of the mist was directly controlling both the mist and the quicksand. Another way to handle this situation was to go through the mist without being seen or heard and take down those who were controlling these; which was close to impossible at this point.

"Commander Cane, permission to use the railgun."

Cane didn't even look at the demigod who was speaking to him, "Major Sherman, our objective here is to capture the dark elves not to collect their corpses."

But he had to admit, the newly developed railgun was the perfect solution for these kinds of scenarios. It was redesigned to destroy magical and supernatural barriers. He was sure that their strongest railgun could even badly damage the mighty barrier surrounding Kyoto, they could even completely collapse it if they could fire a few shots in succession. But the problem wasn't the firepower, it was the casualty. There was a high chance that they could wipe out the entire settlement.

"Unacceptable," Cane muttered to himself.

They needed the dark elves. More precisely what they truly needed was the knowledge dark elves possessed about magic.

The power level of their technology and army had reached the point where the Greek faction could finally say that they were now equal to the Norse faction. But the term 'Equal' was not good enough for his father Ares and his aunt Athena. He knew that. Heck, most of the top-ranked demigods knew that the Olympians would never stop, not until they became one of the top-tier factions. But sometimes he wondered, would they stop even if they reached their goal.

Unfortunately, the Olympians were at a bind right now. Yes, their faction's army had the number and the technology but they were lacking in two things right now, very powerful individuals and in-depth magical knowledge. As far as he knew, Lady Athena was planning something to gather strong individuals. He had a hunch what it was but he knew better not to poke too much. And his father Ares took the responsibility to find groups who were well-versed in magic. The easiest option was to raid one of the magical associations situated in Europe. But after some thorough recon, Ares dropped the idea. Not surprising since quite a few of the associations were being led by Mephisto. Cane knew his father was a warmonger but he wasn't stupid. The devil faction was in a very fragile state. Crossing paths with them now would be considered suicide.

So, Lord Ares told his sons to focus on the independent minor factions and rogue mages. But Cane knew what his father was truly aiming for, the vampire factions and the dark elves. Unfortunately both of the vampire factions, the Carmilla faction and the Tepes faction were situated in Europe; meaning they couldn't use brute force to subjugate them as that would alert the Biblical faction. So, currently his father was consulting with Lady Athena on how to handle this situation.

As for the dark elves, no one knew where they were hiding.

Until now.

"Major Sherman, prepare the railgun. But instead of firing directly at the center, fire at the coordination I will be giving. There are…" Cane stopped when he saw the sky darkening. It was not just the sky but he felt as if the whole atmosphere just became dark and eerie. It took him a few seconds to realize that the weather was becoming very terrible and very fast.

Was it the dark elves?

No.

"Commence operation danger close! Everyone fire at will; shoot anything that moves!" Cane shouted at his earpiece as he turned around and started running toward the camp, "Elizabeth-1 send in the air supp…"

It was only because of his instinct that he activated his bracelet and tower shield appeared in front of him made of pure imperial gold. He didn't know what hit him but the shockwave from the huge explosion in front of him send him flying.

Cane landed on his feet but he couldn't get his senses straight immediately. But he wasn't one of the top demigods for nothing. Even though he didn't know what was happening, he kept barking orders.

'Stay in line!'

'Form a defensive position!'

'Fire at will!'

He was screaming his lungs out as he started to run toward the camp again. But he was stopped again when he saw it. From the dark cloudy sky emerged this giant serpent purely made of green fire. But unlike others who were watching it in stunned silence, he immediately calculated where it was heading. And it was heading toward the heavy assault group.

"Re…"

He couldn't utter one word before that thing was smashed into the ground. The heavy assault unit consisted of ten heavy tanks that each of which could easily fend of multiple minotaurs, three squads of forty strong men who were much stronger than your average exorcists. But that full unit just vanished into thin air just like that. Nothing was left behind but scraps and ashes.

 _This_ was magic; raw, unfiltered and unstoppable.

It was then, Cane saw him.

He was wearing exquisite Japanese clothes while holding a large katana in one hand. He was standing between them and the mist barrier. He couldn't immediately identify who he was till he saw that mark on his forehead and that unique silver hair.

Sesshomaru…

"Release the horde!"

Fifteen artificial chimeras made of imperial gold and engineered by Lord Hephaestus himself were released. As they charged toward him, Cane ran toward Sherman who was giving orders around him but he knew better. He always knew better. This fight was a lost cause. It would be a massacre. He had to get out.

His intuition was proven correct when Sesshomaru took down the whole horde within less than a minute; all the while standing on the same spot and dodging the bullets courtesy from his unit. The worst part, he never used any magic.

That youkai was a monster, pure and simple!

The moment Cane reached Sherman, he grabbed him and activated the transportation spell. It took one second for him to teleport back to temporary main base which was one of the aircraft carriers. But that one second was enough for his opponent to give a lasting impression.

"Argh!" Cane screamed as he looked down to see his right arm which was holding the shield was missing. He didn't know how it was done. Heck, he didn't even see Sesshomaru moving and he was at least five kilometers away from him.

"Commence operation meteor…" The words died down as Cane realized that he was poisoned. He saw Sherman supporting him and started giving orders around him. Cane knew he wasn't going to die, but the mission was done for. He gritted his teeth and screamed his lungs out.

One youkai, it took one fucking youkai to sabotage their whole operation that took months to plan and destroyed one of his divisions that took years to create.

"ARGH!" With one last scream, Cane lost his consciousness.

.

Half an hour later

.

"You don't look happy."

With a wry smile, Sesshomaru turned to meet Tannin's gaze, the ex-dragon king was still in his human form. Then he looked behind him to see the chief of the dark elves was gathering his people.

"How did the talk go?"

Tannin shrugged, "It went better than I thought. They were really impressed by our quick action _and_ your monstrous strength."

"Is that all?"

"No. Turned out they want to leave with us."

Now that surprised Sesshomaru, "They are accepting our offer."

"They are more than happy to, to be honest." Tannin smiled as he looked back to see the dark elf chief, "He is asking for us to guard them starting from now till they are done moving."

"We should ask Lady Yasaka and August…"

Sesshomaru couldn't finish as Tannin turned around and gave him a mischievous smile, "Let me rephrase it, they are asking for _you_ specifically to guard them during this whole time."

"Ohh…" Other than this he had no comeback.

Sesshomaru then turned around again and faced the sea, "I thought they needed more persuasion."

"Do they?" Tannin stepped forward and stood by his side, "They saw how strong and tenacious these bastards were. They were no match for them. If it weren't for us, they would have been turned into slaves for all eternity, maybe worse. Also," Tannin lowered his voice a bit, "I think they are tired of hiding, tired of being unable to see the world."

"Hope for their children, their next generation," Sesshomaru muttered to himself, but Tannin heard it regardless.

"You are right." Tannin paused to take a deep breath before asking again, "You still don't look that happy."

Now it was Sesshomaru's turn to take a deep breath. He knew Tannin wasn't going to let this go.

"I know why we let them go but we had the chance to take their whole unit all out."

"You and I both know taking out all these ships and the men on them wouldn't mean a thing to the Olympians. The Greek faction would just use this as an excuse to entice the humans to start a war amongst themselves. Until we have something solid on our hand, our hands are tied." Tannin's answer was something Sesshomaru already knew. The Avalon Empire didn't know where the Olympians were hiding. The only thing Jiraiya found out was that the second Mount Olympus was somewhere in the United States. There was also this case about the huge number of demigods they were producing, which was not possible according Lady Amaterasu. So the Avalon Empire needed to find something that they could use against the Greek faction, till then just like Tannin said, their hands were tied.

But it was still hard to let enemies walk away fully knowing that they would be coming back more prepared. Still, he couldn't help it.

"Ironic, isn't it? The Greek faction is the least worshipped amongst the humans and yet they are the one who has control over them the most."

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

 **Kuoh Town**

 **(5 months left till the Core Stone resurfaces)**

"I am a genius."

Azazel couldn't help but praise himself as he looked over his newly purchased apartment. His new place was in stark contrast to his usual ones. Truth to be told, this simplistic three-room apartment looked quite appealing than some of his old luxurious manors. All it was missing was a few sexy maids, and this would be perfect.

Speaking of his intelligence, he really had to give a pat to himself. Securing a base in Japan, especially in Kuoh was harder than he thought. Of course, this town wasn't his first choice. He tried to take a trip to Kyoto, but boy was he surprised at the level of the security. It was close to impossible to get inside the city with all the patrols and the barriers. To be honest, if he wanted to he could have passed all these securities, with some difficulties of course. But, unfortunately that would also get the immediate attention of some of the youkai he was desperately trying to avoid. So, he had to make sure he didn't trigger any sort of securities the youkai had placed in Kyoto and regions beside the city.

The leader of the Grigori, the strongest fallen ever to exist had to tiptoe around the youkai territories. This alone just showed how Naruto Ōtsutsuki disrupted the power balance in the supernatural world.

Of course, it didn't stop him. He just went with his alternative plan. Instead of bringing all of the selected fallen at one time, he sneaked them in groups. And placed them in small to medium-sized churches in small under the radar areas all over Japan. The selected fallen, under his command, were tasked to subtly create a small network within the next few weeks.

"Maybe I should ask them to speed up." Azazel thought to himself as he lazily rubbed his chin.

His musing was cut short when he heard the doorbell. His eyes immediately darted to the figurines nicely arranged in his shelf, more toward the empty spots between some of his antique figurines.

"Finally, they are here."

With a skip in his steps, Azazel went toward his door. When he opened it, the view of the delivery man standing there with his precious package brought a smile to his face.

"Hope you took utmost care to my precious package." Azazel grinned as he took the package from the delivery man, he was quite young from the looks of it.

"Of course sir, our company is the best in the courier service." With a sheepish smile, he added, "My boss was also quite vocal about the safety of the packages. He said that you are a regular?" With that, he took out an envelope and handed it to him.

Azazel raised an eyebrow as he took the envelope. He tried to remember what this could be but nothing was coming to his mind.

"Are you sure this is mine?"

The boy blinked hearing his question, "This came with the package."

"Hmm~ Maybe something promotional?" Azazel muttered as he gently put down his package to open the envelope. What came out from there was something completely absurd.

An airplane ticket.

"We got the first class for you."

Azazel's eyes snapped to look at the boy in front of him. But wearing the same cloths, there was someone else standing instead of the boy.

If anyone would ask who was the most feared youkai? The answer was obvious, Naruto Ōtsutsuki. But who was taking the second place? Now that would raise some debates. Some would say it's Yasaka; not because she was the queen but how good she was at using her power, fame and position. And then some might say it was August Alvarez. Well, that one didn't need any explanation since he was the 'Legendary Eternal Guardian' of the Faerie faction. But to him, they wouldn't come close to the original threat, the one youkai whose real talent was hardly noticed by anyone outside of the Avalon Empire. He was sure that even in the empire, very few knew what that youkai was truly capable of.

Now, why did he think that this youkai was more dangerous thank the queen and the prime minister?

This youkai was the mastermind behind the youkai military that went toe to toe with the devil faction. And if his sources weren't wrong, he was also the one who started gathering special individuals for the Biju. Speaking of his sources, the spy network Azazel created for the Grigori was considered to be the best out of all the factions. And it took him hundreds of years to completely create the network. But recently he found out that the Avalon Empire had one as good as theirs. And the one who created their spy network was none other than that youkai. But the worst part was he only took half a century to do it.

And right now, that youkai was standing right in front of him.

"I also got you some premiere services," He took out another envelope with a perverted grin, "As a man of culture like me, I am sure you will appreciate this little gift."

"Lord Jiraiya; what a surprise." The smile on Azazel's face was now very strained as he looked down at the ticket again, "If I may, I am a bit confused about these hospitalities."

The perverted grin on Jiraiya's face turned into a wry smile, "How about we drop all these shenanigans, Azazel. If it was any other time, I would have taken you to a club of our liking. Women and booze all night, sounds like a perfect setting for men like us to relax and chat, right?" Then the youkai sage's smile disappeared completely, "But unfortunately, we are going through a troubled time. You know where I am going, right?"

Absolute silence reigned for the next minute but it felt like an eternity for Azazel.

Azazel was completely at lost for words here. He didn't know where to start or how to counter Jiraiya, but he had to try. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he finally spoke up with a serious tone, "Is it because I am from the Biblical faction that I am getting this special treatment?"

At first Jiraiya blinked at the statement; and then out of nowhere he started laughing out loud. It was absurd, Azazel didn't know what was so funny.

"You think we are discriminating you just because you are from Biblical faction and has ties with the Devil faction?" Although Jiraiya had a smile on his face, his eyes were hard and calculative, "Let me say the details from a high level perspective to save us some time. The number may not be exact but you have brought in around two hundred fallen in last three weeks; quite covertly if I say so myself. And if I have to take a guess as for why, it is to create a network and establish a base here in Japan. So far, I got main facts correct, right?"

As Jiraiya was speaking, Azazel felt a chill running down his spine. He had underestimated this man greatly, and now it was his turn to pay the price. Since Jiraiya knew this much, Azazel was sure lying to him would be of no good. So, at this stage the best approach would be, "You are right, Lord Jiraiya," Azazel started with a heavy sigh, "I did bring few of my men here, to expand my network. But should it come as a surprise? After all, the supernatural world will soon enter the cold war era. But unlike the previous cold wars, this time we have a wild card, a mysterious and dangerous wild card." Azazel paused as he pointed at Jiraiya, "So will you blame me if I am taking precautions to ensure the safety of my people."

Jiraiya didn't say anything back, he simply stared at him. The stare-down continued for a minute before he finally broke the silence, "Your reasoning is sound, I will admit that. But we both know that it's bullshit." Whatever Azazel was expecting, this was certainly not it. But Jiraiya didn't stop there, "You are not here for the cold war, you are here for us. You want to see, you want to learn what we are capable of. To be honest, I completely understand why you want to do that. But regardless of your intentions, you are still trespassing our territories with shady purposes."

Azazel drew a heavy breath, he was neither dumb nor stubborn. He knew when a fight was lost and when to back off, "So you are telling me to leave."

"You and all your men," Jiraiya corrected him.

Azazel simply nodded.

"Please leave while we are asking you nicely." Jiraiya then pointed at the ticket, "After that date, we will not be so generous."

"Is it possible for me to meet with your king," Azazel tried his last hope.

"I know what you are trying to do here. But try to understand this, you came in his territory without any kinds of invitation. And you came here for your own gain, and you came here in a troubled time. Do you really think that it is a wise idea for me to let you meet him?" Jiraiya answered with a wry smile.

"I thought he was a benevolent king,"

"Yes, but he is not stupid either."

Azazel opened his mouth but nothing came out. He honestly didn't have anything to say. And it seemed Jiraiya understood that clearly. So he gave a respectful bow and without any word started walking away from his door. The fallen governor could only watch his retreating steps for a minute before he slowly closed the door.

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed it. So, till next time…**


	10. Chapter 10

**Well here is the next chapter. 2 more chapters to go for this arc.**

 **Also, thank you so much for those wonderful reviews. Sometimes reading those reviews is all the motivation I need to start working on the story.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **Gods & Monsters**

 **V**

 **France**

 **(4 months left till the Core Stone resurfaces)**

"This guy really doesn't know how to blend in, does he?" That was the first thought that came into Jiraiya's mind when he saw their guests, especially at the sight of the main guest.

The archangel Michael was handsome, there was no doubt about that. He had that innocent ikemen look that a lot of females would definitely be attracted to. But Jiraiya's issue wasn't with his look, it was with his attire. If Jiraiya would have to describe what kinds of clothing Michael was wearing in one word, it would be… hideous. The archangel was wearing a red robe with a gold cross on the front of his white alb and had golden shoulder plates with a white sash. He even had his freaking halo dangling on top of his head.

Jiraiya couldn't help but subtly look at himself and August. Both of them wearing a simple yet elegant looking tuxedo. He even trimmed his hair to suit the location. For god's sake, he didn't book a private room in the Mirazur restaurant all the way in France to see this!

"This is a marvelous place," Michael said with a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

Jiraiya and August were already on their feet the moment their guests came in. Of course, Jiraiya was the first to follow up, "I am glad you liked it. I chose a neutral ground for our meeting. But thought why not take it up a notch?" Then he pointed at the glass walls and the table beside him, "stunning panoramic view, world-class cuisine; perfect to set up the mood, don't you think so?"

"I have to say, I am really impressed with your choice," said Vasco Strada,

The last one in their group, Griselda Quarta, just nodded back.

And as usual, the exorcists were also following their leader blindly. Just looking at their appearance would make anyone feel as if Michael and his troupe came here to exorcise the whole city. Yes, they were using multiple high level illusion magic to make them appear normal in front of normal humans. But why take all take these complex steps when you can simply wear the attire to match the surroundings to blend in. Could it be that they didn't know the simple art of subtlety?

"Please, take a seat," August's word snapped him out of his trance.

As everyone sat down, Jiraiya noticed that Griselda was completely ignoring him. But he couldn't ponder on it as Michael spoke up, "I was hoping for your king to be here."

"I do apologize for this, but currently he is very busy." August politely answered.

"So you are telling us that whatever your king is doing right now is more important than meeting the first archangel and the leader of the angels of the Heaven faction?" Griselda didn't raise her voice at all, but her words were sharp as a holy sword.

Jiraiya raised his eyebrow in amusement. It seemed like she was acting as the bad cop of their team. And if his hunch was right then Michael would be the one playing as the good cop. The classic 'good cop and bad cop' move, might have worked against others but unfortunately they were dealing with him.

"Please, do not take it the wrong way, but Lord Michael here is not the leader of the Heaven faction, now is he?" All three of them flinched. Seeing that, Jiraiya immediately followed up, "What I mean here is that both of our leaders are not here. But their right-hand men," Jiraiya then pointed at Michael first then at August, "are here. And I think that they are more than enough to carry on our discussion."

"I agree with Lord Jiraiya," Michael spoke up, but Jiraiya noticed the slight hesitation.

"How about we order something? The quality of the foods here is top-notch." Jiraiya picked up the menu but Michael shook his head.

"If possible we want to start right now."

"I should have just picked up a random food stall beside the city streets," Jiraiya didn't voice out his thought, rather he nodded at the archangel indicating he was fine with the decision.

"The reason we hoped for your king to be here is that this discussion is quite sensitive," Michael immediately continued without giving Jiraiya any time to retort, "First of all, we the Heaven faction will like to deeply apologize for what had transpired between the Avalon Empire and the Devil faction. Please be assured that their actions don't reflect the Biblical faction as a whole."

Michael paused for a moment but neither Jiraiya or August said anything back. Releasing a deep breath, Michael continued, "In order for us to create a better future for both of our factions, I propose for an alliance."

Now that got a reaction out of both Jiraiya and August. But again neither of them said anything back.

"I know we cannot build a strong alliance right from the beginning but we are hoping that we can achieve that in the future. Of course, for that to happen both of our sides has to work on that."

Michael paused again but this time Jiraiya spoke up, "Lord Michael, what you are suggesting is something our king will be very pleased to hear. And knowing him, he will do his best to achieve that future you are talking about. But, this alliance you are proposing, it's not a verbal and mutual agreement between us, now is it?"

"I am sure both of you know full well that a simple verbal agreement sometimes is not enough in our world. It can fall apart at tough times. So, we are hoping to start our alliance with a more symbolic relationship." Vasco spoke up from Michael's side.

"And may we know how you want to achieve that," August asked in a neutral tone.

Hearing that, Michael looked at August, "We are hoping that faeries will help us reforge Excalibur. And in return we will bestow your city with the 'Shield of the Righteous'."

Jiraiya almost facepalmed, almost.

It was true that faeries were the one who forged Excalibur but the power core of that sword was provided by the Heaven faction. It was the same case of Caliburn. But it was also because of this that the faerie faction had to go into hiding since all the other factions started a widespread hunt for their unique magic-crafting skills. But what the Heaven faction was offering wasn't something small either. 'Shield of the Righteous' was one of the strongest defensive spells ever to be created. It was because of this spell that the Vatican City was still standing after the Great war four hundred years ago. Unfortunately, the problem was elsewhere…

"Just to be clear, I am not trying to offend anyone here." Jiraiya noticed how Griselda tried to hold back her snort at his words, "But I think you should think this through. This offer has more disadvantages for us than you think."

Griselda didn't try to hide her snort this time, "Of course, the strongest defensive spell isn't enough for you people. You want…"

August raised his hand to stop Griselda form speaking, "Both of us cannot deny that your offer is more beneficial for us. But what you are not seeing is how this is going to affect us. For one, it will put all the faeries into the spotlight again. After we forged those two swords for you, the manhunt for us begun. And even though we didn't actively participate in the Great war, the casualty that our faction suffered was one of the highest. And for two hundred years, this continued."

"I deeply apologize on behalf of the Heaven faction, for our inability to protect you." Both August and Jiraiya had no doubt how sincere and truly regretful Michael was when he spoke those words. Those words were not lies, but…

"Thank you Lord Michael. But believe me when I say that we do not hold the Heaven faction responsible for this. We, the faerie faction, took a side in the Great war and we suffered the consequences for our choice. That is all there is to it. To make things clear, I am not bringing out the past to accuse the Heaven faction. What I want to say is that our actions have consequences. If we help you to reforge Excalibur, the faeries and in extension the whole Avalon Empire will be targeted. There is no doubt about that." August calmly explained.

"Are you sure about that?" Vasco interrupted, "I mean after what your king did and with our backing, I do not think anyone will be dumb enough to pick a fight with your people."

"Are you sure about that?" Jiraiya really tried but with all naivety these people were spouting, he couldn't keep his sarcastic tone down. He turned toward Michael and sighed, "I understand that you have zero ill-intention. But think of this from a different point of view. We almost started an all-out war with the devil faction. And now we are trying to reforge Excalibur, one of the strongest holy swords ever to exist. I don't think the Devil faction and Grigori will take this as a simple alliance. I don't know about you, but…"

"You should watch your words, you are speaking to Lord Michael," Griselda snapped.

"Okay, not a bad cop act; she seems to truly hate my guts," Jiraiya looked at straight at Griselda whose gaze clearly told him that she was murdering him on her head, "Have I done something to you?"

"You perverted youkai! You bewitched my best friend!" Griselda almost jumped at him, if it weren't for the reprimanding look she got from Michael.

"Best friend? Wait, it's her?!" It was at that moment that Jiraiya knew he should be anywhere but here, "Hey, Don't make it sound like I used her. I properly courted her and I married her. She is my wife."

"She is ONE of your wives!"

Well, he didn't have any comebacks for that so he looked away from Griselda.

"How about this? Since the situation … I mean the alliance offer is quite delicate, we discuss this matter when both of our leaders are present?" August tried to defuse the situation but the way both of the exorcists flinched made Jiraiya think that August was doing a terrible job.

"Look, let's order. You know what they say…" Jiraiya couldn't even start his bullshit before Griselda abruptly stood up.

"I apologize Lord Michael but I want to be excused."

As Griselda was storming off, the awkwardness level between the two groups started to rise.

Naruto always told him that his perverted ways would come back to bite him hard on his charming ass. The brat wasn't wrong. Truth to be told, this wasn't the first time when an important discussion went south because of his perverseness. And this definitely wouldn't be the last. And everyone thought that the path to be the true harem king was nothing but full of rainbows and sunshine. Oh~ How fucking wrong they were!

"Well, it isn't like I can do anything about this," With that thought, Jiraiya turned toward Michael and Vasco and let out a charming smile, "So, who would like to order?"

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

 **Maldives**

 **(3 months left till the Core Stone resurfaces)**

Everything had its advantages and disadvantages.

For example, being a demigod would grant you powers that normal mortals couldn't even dream about. Arjuna had no qualm with the powers, he knew how to control them and he also knew how to handle the responsibilities that came with the power. His issue was with the looks and physique which would garner unwanted attention. Like now, he was in Meeru Island and was on his way to meet his father. Of course, he dressed according to the place which unfortunately attracted the attention of the opposite sex.

"Je suis désolé," Arjuna politely declined the French girls. He knew the girls meant well, he hoped they did. It was just that he wasn't really good at handling these kinds of forward and aggressive type of women. And as usual the girls took it as a challenge which at the end made him to use magic to get out of the mess.

Finally, after what it seemed like an eternity, he found his father.

Indra was laying down on a long chair, looking relaxed and carefree. His colorful Hawaiian shirt and big sunglasses really matched the overall mood of the place. No one would have guessed that this stylish middle-aged man was actually one of the top strongest being in this dimension.

"Good afternoon, father."

Indra didn't move but he slowly moved his head toward the empty chair beside him. Arjuna politely sat down, but, "Relax boy, we are here to chat. No need to look so formal and stiff."

With a small nod, Arjuna laid down onto the chair. He tried to be relaxed, to be in the mood but failed hard to do so. In his defense, the topic he was about to discuss wasn't something that can be done in such a relaxing manner.

"Why not you start with what is stressing you the most?"

As always, Arjuna knew he couldn't hide anything from his father, "Father, with due respect, may I know what are your plans regarding the upcoming cold war?"

"Nothing."

Whatever Arjuna thought his father's answer would be, this was far from it. He didn't know how to react to this, as a result, he couldn't follow up with the conversation. But it seemed that Indra predicted this as well, "I am not planning anything for this Cold war because at the end it is pointless. Can you take a guess Arjuna? Why do I think that this pointless, hmm~"

Arjuna tried hard but he really couldn't come up with anything solid. With a sigh, he shook his head.

"Then let's try this from a different angle, do you know why this so called Cold War occurs?"

Now, this was something he knew, "Cold war is where middle class factions will take passive-aggressive steps to fight against each other, in order to show supremacy amongst themselves and at the same time making sure that the high class factions don't get too involved. In a way, for them this is the best opportunity to become stronger."

Indra took off his sunglass and looked at Arjuna, "You just answered your own questions."

"Yes, we are not supposed to get too involved in the war. But does that mean we cannot do anything at all? Even after seeing the cruelty and injustice done to the innocents." Arjuna frowned, "The war hasn't even begun and the Greek faction has already started their campaign. And from what I have seen, they are downright being aggressive with their actions."

"But did they anyway offended us?" The answer of Indra's question was easy, Arjuna knew it but it felt wrong to him.

"You might have seen something in your stay with the Hero faction that made you this restless, I am sorry for that. But let me tell you something about the Greek faction. They are spineless cowards who are only good at fucking and trampling the weak," The sheer loathe in Indra's voice actually surprised Arjuna. But he wasn't done, "They will never fight someone who is on equal terms with them, let alone someone who is stronger. They will always target the weak and easy prey. They always have been. If it was fully up to me, they would have perished long ago."

"Then why?"

"Everything has its advantages and disadvantages," Arjuna blinked at that statement but didn't say anything allowing Indra to continue, "The Hindu faction is a top class faction because of the Trimurti. As long as they are alive and well, even the Biblical faction as a whole will not dare to cross paths with us. No one can deny that. But there is always a chance that this balance may be broken. So to make sure that doesn't happen, the Trimurti had set some rules. From our faction's perspective, these rules are here to help us prosper and at the same time to make sure as a faction we are always on the neutral side. But if you look at the bigger picture, there are cases where these rules are restricting us."

"May I know what are these rules?" This was the first time Arjuna was hearing this.

"I will tell you in detail when the time is right," Indra answered as he put the sunglasses back on and relaxed again on his chair, "But one thing I can say for sure is that this cold war will not affect the Hindu faction in any way."

"But innocent people are dying." Arjuna tried hard, but some anger sipped out through his tone.

"Then do something about it."

Arjuna was again stunned at the response but it took him mere seconds to fully understand what his father was trying to do. He sat straighter and looked at his father, even with the black sunglasses he could see that his father had his eyes closed. But he knew that his attention was fully on him, "Father, can you tell me what you know about the Greek factions, other than your personal opinions."

"I do have something that might be helpful, but what do you have to offer in return." Came the smooth reply.

For others it might sound odd, even demeaning, that Indra was being so strict with such small matters even though the other side was his own son. But to Arjuna, it was an honor. He understood from a young age that the reason Indra would take this approach was to teach him how to negotiate and at the same time it also showed that during these kinds of discussions Indra would think Arjuna as someone of his equal.

With a smile, Arjuna answered, "I know the true purpose as to why Ophis created the Khaos brigade and I also know how utterly she will fail to achieve her goal."

Indra didn't say anything but his wide smile filled with pride told Arjuna that he got his interest, "Her ultimate wish is to remove The Great Red from the dimensional gap and take back her place. She knows that she cannot do it alone so she wants to tip the favor to her side by gathering strong individuals."

The prideful smile on Indra's face was completely gone. He took off his sunglasses again and started to rub the bridge of his nose, "Are you telling me that one of the strongest beings in our dimension, a Beast class being is this dumb and naïve?"

Arjuna understood his father's frustration, after all he was feeling exactly the same when he first learned about it. How could any of them help Ophis against the Great Red? No matter how many individuals she would gather, all of them would be considered as less than ants compared to the Great red, unless they are at least Super class individuals. "But this is not the main reason why she will fail. I believe there is someone who is pulling the strings from the shadows and controlling the movements of the Khaos Brigade."

"Do you have any idea who it could be?"

Arjuna sighed and just shook his head. It wasn't because of his lack of trying but because this individual was always a few steps ahead of him. And he knew he couldn't be too persistent otherwise his position would be in danger.

Indra was rubbing his chin as his eyes were focused on the calm sea in front of them. Suddenly out of nowhere, he smiled, "Then why don't you take advantage of the situation?"

Arjuna knew why his father stopped there, it was to see if he could understand what opportunity he was pointing at. But seriously though, what could an organization this messy could offer. Everyone there was for …

His widened and he could his father smiling at him, "You want me to create a team of my own."

"You know what I hate the most Arjuna," Indra had his smile but his eyes turned cold. Even though he was looking at him, Arjuna could see his eyes were seeing something else, "When you have the power but you do not take necessary actions, and at the same time you do not allow others to take them either. Take this Cao Cao for example. He is the wielder of the True Longinus, the strongest Longinus ever to exist. The things he can do, the possibilities … they are endless. He could change the world for the better, or for the worst. He could literally re-structure the power balance of our world. And at the end he chose to wield this power to satisfy his own greed and need. I can tell you right now, it will not end well for the Hero faction. Cao Cao is bound to piss off the wrong people which will be his demise, and anyone who is following him."

Indra wasn't wrong. Arjuna knew it, he felt it. He also knew what was the right course of action but taking that step meant, "There are quite a few who are not satisfied the way Cao Cao is handling the team. And it is not just him, there are a lot of individuals … good individuals who are frustrated at the way the Khaos Brigade is working. But they are shackled." Indra didn't say anything but Arjuna understood the silent question, "Yes, I can gather almost all of them to work with me. But this would accelerate their plans greatly."

Seeing Indra giving him the questioning look, Arjuna started to rub the bridge of his nose, "All of the so-called factions inside the Khaos Brigade has their own agenda, their own mini plans leading to a grander one. Right now everyone is taking it slow because nothing major is happening. But if I take this step, if I gather all this individual in one team, it will disrupt their plan and the balance inside the organization." Arjuna looked at Indra, to make sure he understood his message clearly, "If I take this step, some will come after me and my team. I am not afraid of them. What I am afraid of are those who would take drastic measures to make sure they could achieve their ambitious goals. They will not care about any consequences. Which will result in lots of innocent people dying."

"Lots of innocent people are dying right now."

Arjuna wasn't finished but his words got stuck at Indra's ruthless statement. It seemed his father wasn't done yet, "You wanted to know what the Greek factions are doing? They are targeting and enslaving any low class factions or magical tribes. Their aim is to gather knowledge related to anything remotely magic. And the reason they are taking an aggressive approach is that almost all other middle class factions are still working on their defenses. And why they are focusing on magical knowledge is because they are trying to upgrade their already existing anti-magic and anti-supernatural weapons. Keep in mind that they are also testing these weapons along the way. As for how they are testing their new weapons, I will leave it up to your imagination." Indra leaned toward Arjuna, the intensity of his gaze almost made Arjuna look away, "So trust me when I say that you do not know yet how truly ruthless and atrocious they are."

The tension was there for only a moment and then out of nowhere, Indra stood up and slowly he started to stretch, "Arjuna, you should learn from Naruto Ōtsutsuki. During the events of the Nekoshou massacre, he knew his actions would have consequences but he still went for it, to have justice for his people. And if I am being honest, he really did a good job at handling the situation. Yes, some factions took advantage of this to start a cold war. But is he sitting down and biting his thumb wondering what to do right now? No."

Indra turned to Arjuna, "I cannot tell you how the cold war will end but I can tell you this, Arjuna. The one who will truly win this war will be the Avalon Empire. But yes, there will be losses. Because in the end, everyone has their limits."

Indra started walking, Arjuna immediately followed him, walking side by side, "You are telling me to take a drastic step."

Indra snorted, "Son, I am not telling you to do anything. It is your life, your choice. My only advice for you is to accept the fact that every action has its consequences. Every action has its pros and cons. You cannot make everything go the way you want. Life doesn't work this way."

Arjuna gave a dry laugh. He had to admit, Indra was really good at pep talk, "Sometimes I wish things were a bit easier."

"Don't we all wish that?" Indra answered with a rueful smile.

The silence between father and son lasted for a few long minutes before Arjuna stopped walking. Indra took a few steps before he stopped as well. Taking a deep breath, Arjuna looked at his father, his tone filled with conviction, "Father, I would like to be released from your personal army." Indra nodded with an emotionless expression, "And I would also like to withdraw from my current mission."

"Granted, but may I know why though."

Arjuna didn't answer immediately. Not because he wasn't sure of his answer, it was just that he needed a bit time to say it properly, "I will make a team of my own. This will for sure have consequences and I plan to see it till the end before I can go after the Greek faction."

Indra didn't say anything, he just raised his right hand, palm facing up. And a second later, the all too familiar weapon appeared on top of his palm.

"Vasavi Shakti!" Arjuna couldn't help but be awed at the weapon. But the surprise didn't end there,

"Take it, it's yours."

Arjuna was truly speechless after hearing his father's words. This was not a normal weapon that his father was giving him, this was a weapon meant to be used in a fight between Supreme class beings.

"I …"

"The question is not whether you are worthy or not? The question is whether you are willing to take the responsibility of wielding such a weapon or not?"

It seemed that his father was firm on his decision. The only reason he was hesitating was because the power Vasavi Shakti possessed. If he could utilize even half of the power it possessed, he could … Then it hit him. The real reason as to why his father was giving him Vasavi Shakti.

Arjuna slowly came forward and knelt in front of his father, as he raised his hands and took the weapon. The weapon was light but the power that resided in the weapon made it feel like it was heavier than the Himalayas.

"I will see you soon, my son," With that, Indra disappeared, leaving a very concerned but determined Arjuna.

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

 **Unknown location**

 **(2 and a half months left till the Core Stone resurfaces)**

It had been seventy years, give or take, since Naruto started using this unique energy source. It was quite different from his old world's chakra although it had some similarities. To be honest, Naruto was the only one who had this energy running throughout his body, a result caused by Amaterasu as she wanted to create an energy source for him which was as close to his original chakra.

She did her best but in the end, she couldn't quite replicate the chakra from his old world, let alone the chakra network and chakra amount.

And those were the reasons why Naruto couldn't use some of the highest levels of techniques that came with Rinnegan. After trying for so many years, he finally accepted the fact that he wouldn't be able to use those jutsu. It wasn't that he was giving up since it was impossible to learn those jutsu using his current body and energy. It was as if a Hyuuga trying to awaken a Sharingan, it went against the natural order.

At least that's what he thought till Jiraiya came up with this theory.

"How are you feeling, love?"

Naruto didn't answer Yasaka. He just hugged her tightly and put his chin on top of her head. He closed his eyes and focused on his new energy. He wasn't surprised when he found out how soundly it was resonating with his wife's divine energy. Heck, if he would go deeper he knew he would find that his energy was resonating with everything around them.

That thought was kind of scary to be honest. But unfortunately he needed to get used to it.

"You are acting a bit odd, not Naruto-like," Yasaka said with a light chuckle, but Naruto didn't miss the worry in her tone, "Are you still feeling the aftermath of the ascension?"

He was fine, somewhat. But instead of saying it out loud, he squeezed her to relay his message. And by the way her body relaxed, it seemed she got it loud and clear.

The solution that Jiraiya came up with was quite simple in terms of theory. Naruto had to ascend to godhood so that his energy would become completely divine. What Jiraiya deduced that this world has some natural restrictions for which Naruto couldn't use any power related to life and death, creation and destruction. The only way to bypass these laws of nature was for him to ascend so that he could attain divine energy. But that wasn't all. Jiraiya also pointed out that Naruto had to attain at least the second level of divine energy.

The first level of divine energy was known as Celestial class which only strong gods and deities could obtain. The second level of divine energy was called Ascended class which very high rank gods could obtain, currently only some of the leader of the factional gods had this. Last class was Omni class, and it was easy to guess who had this class of divine energy.

So it meant that their previous plan of making Naruto stronger was a no go, since there was no point even if they created a new body or created new energy source for him. As long as Naruto didn't have at least Ascended class divine energy, nature itself would prevent him to use those jutsu. Again, this was just a theory, but a well-researched one if Naruto was being honest. After all, Jiraiya never did anything half-assed.

Long story short, if Naruto wanted to become stronger he had to step into the Gods' Domain.

The thing was, this wasn't the first time he was asked to become a God. In the past, Amaterasu tried quite a few times but Naruto rejected her offers firmly.

Now, Naruto had nothing against Gods in general. It was just the fact that being a God meant that he would be worshipped which didn't sit right with him. Also it didn't help that some of his adversaries from his old world had huge god-complex.

But this time it was different. No one would deny that he was already strong enough to protect his people. But the Nekoshou massacre made him remember something valuable. If there was a way to become stronger, then don't turn away unless it went against his moral codes. After all, if he didn't accept Kurama's power or old man Hagoromo's blessing back then, they wouldn't have won the war. Becoming stronger was never a bad thing, it was how you do it and why you use it made all the difference.

So in the end, even though he was reluctant, he went through the ascension and became a God. And it turned out that Jiraiya was right.

"I know that I should expect the unexpected from you, but to think that you would obtain Omni class divine energy." Amaterasu chuckled but her voice was tired. Naruto couldn't blame her. When she first learned that he got Omni class divine energy after his ascension, she outright fainted.

It was funny till Susanoo and Tsukuyomi fainted as well. Let's just say the situation back then got too hectic to be taken lightly.

Naruto let of Yasaka and turned toward the large empty field in front of him.

"Are you sure about this, love," Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at Yasaka. These past few days Yasaka was extra worried about him and in turn she was doing her best to take really good care of him even though she was quite busy herself.

"I need to do this, Yasaka," He gave her a foxy smile that she adores so much. Feeling her relaxed again, he turned toward Amaterasu and nodded.

The first thing he tried to use after his ascension was 'Creation of all things' jutsu. He couldn't describe how happy he was when he found out that he could use that jutsu, albeit there were some complications. Next, he used 'Creation of all things' jutsu to recreate his own body. Now his body had a proper chakra network with 361 tenketsu and 8 gates. He even increased his chakra capacity which was now a similar amount to that of five-tails Biju. Unfortunately, he couldn't go further than that. But these were more than enough to be honest. He could take slow from here.

His first task was rebuilding his body. His second one was to test out his power using his new body and energy source. Now came the third task.

Naruto slowly walked away from Yasaka and Amaterasu. He didn't want many people to know what he was about to do, not until they fully figure out how to handle the fallout and the consequences of his action. He finally made some good distance between him and the ladies.

He took out a small scroll and bit down on it. Then he raised both his hands and started to focus on his power. It took a few seconds but his power started fully resonating with his thought and his will. Then he bit on the scroll hard, and immediately all the required information started to flow into his head. At that moment, with his left hand he started to mark the souls and with his right hand he started to create the body out of thin air.

It took him full five minutes but he finally got everything ready.

"Creation of all things!" Naruto shouted as he struck the palm of his hands against each other.

There was no explosion, no power surge, no environmental disorder. But the result was there. Right in front of Naruto, stood all the deceased Nekoshou, alive and well.

He tried, but he couldn't stop the tears from flowing down. Yasaka was immediately beside and squeezed his arm. Taking a deep breath, Naruto nodded. His job wasn't done.

He waved his hand and immediately all the confused Nekoshou fell asleep, but they didn't fall down on the ground as Naruto used his power to make sure they were still standing. The next part was to erase all of their memories of that fateful night. He made sure that their bodies held no scars related to that night, now he had to remove all the scars from their spirits. Completely removing their memories of that night turned out quite easy compared to the mass resurrection he had just pulled. Still, it seemed that this whole process took quite the toll even though he had tons of chakra left to spare. Guess, his body needed some time for adjustment.

"Lady Amaterasu, can you call the rest and let them handle from here?" Naruto turned toward Amaterasu, even his voice sounded tired now.

"I will do that," Amaterasu waved her hand and immediately the ground below the Nekoshou was filled with pillows seeing which Naruto slowly put them down.

"I know this is not the right time, but there is something I want you to consider." Hearing the tone of Amaterasu, Naruto stood straighter although he was being supported by Yasaka.

"Susanoo, Tsukuyomi and I had a long discussion," Naruto knew she was going to drop a bomb but how she was not meeting his eyes, "When everyone will gather at the Core Stone, we want you to officially announce the alliance between the Avalon Empire and Shinto faction."

Naruto waited patiently knowing full well that she wasn't done. And he was right, "With your current power level, we believe you are almost or already on par with the Four Horsemen. It will make quite a few individuals and groups to take note of you, and in extent at the empire."

Amaterasu stopped after that, it seemed she was still not sure how to say what she truly wanted to say. Although Naruto was patient, Yasaka was too worried about him, "Lady Amaterasu,"

Yasaka's urgent tone seemed to do the trick. Taking a deep breath, Amaterasu finally looked at him, "We were thinking if you could merge the Avalon Empire and the Shinto faction. It will make the empire bigger and stronger." She immediately raised her hand to stop Naruto from speaking up, "We still have two and a half months before the Core stone resurfaces. Take your time and think about it."

With that, she started walking toward the unconscious nekoshous.

Naruto just sighed and looked up.

"Troublesome."

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **I know there will be a lot of questions regarding Naruto's power up but I promise you all that it will be properly explained in the next arc. Just a heads up regarding that, next arc I will fully focus on Naruto to give all of you a better understanding on his power and vision. I know I may be hyping some of you even though this arc has 2 more chapters left, but this is just to tell you guys that I know I haven't properly explained Naruto's power and I am keeping note about it. I just don't think this is the right arc for it.**

 **Hope this helps, till next time guys.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone, just a reminder to read the Author's note at the end, got quite a few things I pointed out hope it answers some questions.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **Gods & Monsters**

 **VI**

 **Unknown location**

 **(2 months left till the Core Stone resurfaces)**

"Are you feeling okay, Naruto?"

The seriousness in her tone wasn't lost to Naruto but he still couldn't help but let out a lighthearted chuckle. It looked like Amaterasu was also becoming a worrywart like Yasaka. Well, he couldn't blame her on this though since it was his fault, somewhat.

"Yes, I am fine, Ba-chan~"

And just like that, Amaterasu turned away huffing. He knew she didn't mind his new way of addressing her, it was just that she wasn't used to it.

The reason behind this was the recent turn of events. What Amaterasu told him two weeks ago wasn't something that only her, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi desired. It turned out that the whole Shinto faction was aware of it and was gladly anticipating the merging between the Avalon Empire and the Shinto faction. In fact, not a single soul in the Shinto faction would mind if Naruto would take the overall leading position after the merging.

This was a huge deal. They were not talking about a simple alliance but a complete union between them. Naruto knew, well technically a lot of them knew that this would affect the foundation of how the Avalon Empire and the Shinto faction were currently running. Even after knowing that, everyone from the Shinto faction was eagerly waiting for this. But what baffled Naruto was the fact that they were willing to let Avalon empire to take the lead after the union. It didn't take long for Naruto to figure out the main reason behind this. It was simple, 'Power'. Other than the main three, the Shinto faction didn't have anyone who could be considered powerful. Amaterasu was a Super class being but she was on the lower side and as for Susanoo and Tsukuyomi, both of them were on the highest level of the Ultimate class. As for the Avalon Empire, even without Naruto they had Yasaka, Jiraiya and August all of whom were also on the same level as Susanoo and Tsukuyomi. Then there were Mephisto and Sesshomaru who were quite strong Ultimate class beings as well. And the list could go on. That was just the individuals only, then there was the Empire's elite army and advanced technology.

Also, the 'Power' wasn't the only main deciding factor here. According to Amaterasu, she and her companions weren't as passionate, charismatic and innovative as Naruto and his friends. So to Amaterasu, it didn't make any sense for the Shinto faction to be the one holding the reins after the merge. Well, Naruto did have a lot of counter arguments but she shut him down by saying that she and the rest of the Shinto faction trusted him; and they also knew that he would be fair and respectful toward them regardless of the outcome.

Seeing that they were this determined, Naruto didn't push anymore.

Now the main question was, how to unite a divine faction that had thousands of years of legacy and a newly formed empire housing insanely powerful individuals and armies? The simple answer was marriage. No, he wasn't marrying someone _new_. Long story short, Yasaka was now officially adopted by Amaterasu making the Shinto goddess Naruto's actual mother-in-law.

Well, it was true that things would have been much easier if Naruto was the one adopted. But both Naruto and Jiraiya thought that this was the perfect chance for Yasaka to go beyond her limits. She and Jiraiya both reached their limit in regards to their power a long time ago. But like Naruto, they kept pushing it but unfortunately both of them came to a dead-end. And it had been like that for years. But as usual, Jiraiya wasn't sitting around doing nothing. He was investing a huge amount of time and resources to figure out new ways for a breakthrough. From time to time, he would go on expeditions to ancient runes and forgotten lands searching for answers. Even though the result wasn't satisfactory enough for him, Jiraiya was making progress nonetheless. Unfortunately, Yasaka didn't have that luxury. Sure, she could invest the same amount of resources but she didn't have much spare time. After all, she was the empire's first queen as well as the head of the shrine priestesses. At the same time, she always made sure never to neglect her duties as a wife and a mother.

Truth to be told, it was because of her and August being so responsible with their duties that Naruto had much less workload compared to his time as the Hokage.

So, Naruto talked to Amaterasu and told her the plan. And much to his surprise, she agreed to it in a heartbeat. And the surprise didn't end there. Amaterasu wanted to make sure that Yasaka wasn't her daughter just in name. She wanted Yasaka to be her protégé, her successor. Meaning if something were to happen to Amaterasu, Yasaka could take the position of the chief Goddess of the Shinto faction unchallenged. Well in regards to challenges, she wouldn't have faced much from the start seeing how popular she was with the masses of the empire as well as with the deities of the Shinto faction.

But there were certain steps … procedures that his wife would have to go through first. And that was why Yasaka was currently going through her ascension as well. Also since Yasaka was already a very strong deity and a very high ranked Shinto priestess, Amaterasu believed that her ascension wouldn't take as long as Naruto's. Plus, there was the fact Yasaka was exposed to divine energy from an early stage of her life unlike Naruto. Lastly, Naruto was also actively helping out with her ascension. Now Naruto wasn't bragging here, but to him, he could be considered as the most contributor out of all of them. In short, Yasaka would complete her ascension to Godhood within a week whereas Naruto took seven months.

"I know you love your wife dearly, Naruto," Amaterasu's words brought him back from his daze. Guess it was his stupid smile he had now that told Amaterasu what he was thinking. But she wasn't done, "But you have to take it easy. You could have at least let me help you with the alteration of her body."

Naruto was this close to arguing that this was not that big of a deal but kept his mouth shut. Yes, he was the only one who was modifying his wife's body so that after her ascension she would have the chakra network in her improved body. It was true Amaterasu wanted to help but he rejected it. After all, he was the only one who had the first-hand experience in creating a chakra network, so he didn't want to take any risks. In the end, everyone had to agree with it.

So was it a delicate task? Yes, absolutely. He had to create the chakra network from scratch while making sure the old power structure in her body wouldn't break down. One wrong move and it might cripple the user. But was it taxing on him? Nope. He just had to be very focused during the procedure. The whole process didn't take much toll on his body or power. He even went further and helped her by tweaking her power here and there. Well maybe creating the mini time room for her so that she could train her new body was pushing a bit. But he knew from experience that it would take some time to get used to the new body and upgraded power. In his defense, he didn't create the time room from scratch. He used the time table or whatever that Kisuke made for him, the one that they wanted to use to create a new body for him.

Now that he thought about it, it's a shame that Kisuke's years of research had to be scrapped off. After all, the answer to Naruto's power-up was ascension to godhood, not transfer soul to a new body. Still …

"While we are on the topic about you pushing yourself like a lunatic, I am quite disappointed at your rash and tactless way of reviving the Nekoshou clan. And let's not forget that you haven't told me everything regarding the mass resurrection spell," Naruto's eyes widened slightly hearing the Amaterasu's accusation, "Yes, everything went well but if any blunders were to occur, it would have been you who would have to suffer the consequences. Also you should be resting after that and yet here you are."

" _Ahh~ Shit!"_ Naruto wanted to groan out loud but was wise enough to keep his poker face up. It seemed Yasaka told Amaterasu the little secret.

Resurrecting the whole nekoshou clan was quite challenging to be honest. It wasn't that he lacked power or skill, it was just that the failure at any part of the process would have grave consequences. So he and Jiraiya broke the process down into four major steps which reduced the risks by a long margin, for the nekoshous only. He was still in a dangerous position.

The first step was creating the 'Knowledge scroll'. Yes, Jiraiya had a bad naming sense. Now, this scroll was created by Jiraiya, the knowledge was provided by Amaterasu and Naruto provided the energy. It had marked all the nekoshou souls which helped Naruto with the second step. But that was not all. It also had every information regarding each of the nekoshous body, which helped Naruto with the third step.

The second step was him using the 'Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique' to bring the souls from the afterworld to the mortal plane. Well usually using this jutsu required one's life energy but Naruto found an alternative. He would gather a large amount of life energy from nature using Senjutsu and store it inside his body, which he would trade to use this jutsu. He would also use a hefty amount of his chakra just to be on the safe side.

This step didn't have any issue, rather it became much easier since he didn't have to mark the souls personally. The scroll did it for him.

The third step was 'Creation of All things'. Well, he had to use only the Yin side of it to create the bodies of the Nekoshou from scratch. The scroll helped tremendously in creating the bodies by providing him all the necessary information regarding their bodies. The reason he recreated their bodies because he didn't want to use their old broken and violated ones. If he was going to resurrect them then he wanted them to give a true second chance, a fresh start. That was why he created new bodies for them and decided to erase their memories after their resurrection.

Fourth and the last step was simply put their souls into their new bodies.

So, in theory the plan was perfect and simple. They also took the necessary precautions. When he started the process for the mass resurrection, there was no blunder at the beginning. Activating the scroll, He used 'Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique' on the marked souls. While the souls are on their way, he created their bodies using 'Creation of All things'. All was going well but when he wanted to put the souls back into their bodies, he noticed something quite dangerous. The afterworld was pulling the souls as well, meaning the souls of the Nekoshou were marked from both sides. The surprise didn't last for a second as Naruto forcefully destroyed the afterworld's marks from their souls. He also double-checked to make sure that there weren't any kinds of traces left.

This part was unexpected. But it didn't take any toll on his body. Well, that's what he believed but turned out that a small amount of his chakra was constantly being absorbed by the afterworld. It was as if he was somehow marked by the afterworld. The reason he didn't notice this blunder was because the amount of chakra that was being taken was very small. It was Yasaka who figured it out, and boy~ She was livid when she found out.

Well fixing the problem wasn't that big of an issue, but calming his wife was.

"And then, there is the third city …."

"Okay, okay~ I get it. I am working too hard," Naruto knew that he kept being quiet, Amaterasu wouldn't stop. For some reason, she was on a roll. But, "Ba-chan, you know why I am doing all of these. The core stone will resurface within the next two months. We have one shot to make all of these work out."

Amaterasu sighed heavily. She finally turned to look at Naruto again, her expression became gentle, "The core stone will resurface again," She immediately raised her hand to stop Naruto from replying back, "Yes, it will take another hundred years. And because of the recent turn of events, you don't want to wait that long."

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I can't wait that long." Naruto corrected her.

"Unfortunately, I completely understand your burden." Amaterasu closed her eyes and started rubbing the bridge of her nose, "And instead of helping you reduce the burden, we are just putting more crap to it."

It was official. Amaterasu was very stressed. She would only cuss, mild ones of course, when she was frustrated or depressed. It seemed that it was time for his famous 'Talk-no-Jutsu'.

"My turn," Naruto cracked his neck and straightened his posture, Amaterasu was clearly confused at this but Naruto ignored that, "You are saying that you are putting more crap to my burden, your words not mine. Then let's see if the recent events agree with your statement or no, shall we?"

Naruto raised his index finger, "First, both Susanoo and Tsukuyomi stayed by my side the whole time during my ascension. And we are talking about seven months. And let's not forget that you would come every day and spend at least four hours just to make sure everything was going smoothly. So I can safely say that my ascension wouldn't have been completed within seven months if it wasn't for all of your efforts."

Then the middle finger went up, "Second, the amount of time and guidance you gave us for this merge topic is immeasurable. We basically didn't have to do anything since you made sure that every single deity from your faction understood what they would expect from this merge. The changes that will be coming, the future of the faction, you covered everything. Just because of that, we had more than enough time to focus on other matters."

Next came the ring finger, "Third, regarding Yasaka's ascension, yes, I am the one who created the body and tweaked her power. Yes, I also spend the majority of my time with her but I wasn't the one who was with her twenty-four seven. Also, you will be the one who will accompany her to the mini time chamber and will personally train her. The only reason you are not with her right now is because she is at the last stage and the Shinto priestesses are taking care of this part. But still, you made sure to leave a fraction of power beside her just in case if you need to go back to help. So right now you should be resting but yet here you are."

Amaterasu raised her eyebrow delicately but Naruto didn't stop. This time, he was on a roll, "Now for the resurrection part, I am not sure if you forgot that but if you didn't help us with the marking of the souls and if you didn't provide us with the knowledge on their body structure, it would have taken months for me and Jiraiya to prepare the stage."

Naruto stopped walking and fully turned to Amaterasu, "I came this far, accomplished so many objectives only because I have friends and families like you. Yes, because of the nature and scale of my power I have to take the heaviest and the flashiest side of certain matters and projects. But that doesn't mean I am working alone or shouldering everything by myself." Then he looked toward the portal in front of him, "Do you know what I am going to do now? I am going to spend the whole morning and afternoon with Kunou. Why? Because even without me, you will make sure Yasaka's ascension goes on smoothly. Even without me, Tsukuyomi and Jiraiya will keep on working on the third city. Even without me, Susanoo and his followers will make sure that all the new clans and refuges properly settle down in the second city. You see where I am going with this, Ba-chan?"

Amaterasu didn't say anything for the whole two minutes. But during this whole time, both of them kept staring at each other. Finally, Amaterasu broke the gaze with a small smile as she spoke softly, "You and your pep talk."

With that, she moved forward and passed through the portal. Naruto followed behind her, with his huge trademark smile.

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

 **Unknown location**

 **(1 month left till the Core Stone resurfaces)**

Yasaka

The Queen of the Avalon Empire let out a tired sigh. With all the things happening to and around her, she should be ecstatic by all means. Unfortunately, even with the combined talent of Naruto and Jiraiya, they couldn't predict every complication coming their way. Yes, her ascension to Godhood went without a hitch. And the power she gained after her ascension, it was indescribable. She felt like she had been reborn … again. But she knew this wasn't her limit. On the contrary, this was just a new beginning. She had now the opportunity to finally reach her envisioned self, the one that could truly stand beside her husband. She just needed to practice with her newly acquired energy and had to spend a considerable amount of time to explore the boundaries of her powers. That was what she was supposed to be doing right now, training with Lady Amaterasu to get a better understanding of her power. Unfortunately, they had to postpone it.

The Carmilla faction, the female dominant vampire faction, had asked for help. It was urgent. But something was off, the way the plea was relayed indicated that there was more to it than they were letting on. It wasn't much as a surprise, after all, there weren't any factions out there who would willingly reveal their secrets to others even if they required help. But unfortunately, the Avalon Empire didn't have anyone who could handle such delicate matter, anyone who was free.

So, though slightly reluctant, Yasaka volunteered to oversee the situation. And that was why she was currently in the main castle of the Carmilla faction.

Yasaka felt the new enchantments when she entered the designated chamber. She was surprised to see how heavily guarded the castle was. She had to admit that the enchantments, though they were nowhere near the empire's level, were still quite impressive.

"Welcome to the Carmilla Castle. My name is Elmenhilde Karnstein, heiress of the noble house of Karnstein," The vampire called Elmenhilde was quite respectful, but Yasaka could tell that she had slightly nervous. She could also sense some reluctance for some reason, but Elmenhilde was hiding her emotions well.

"The honor is mine, Lady Elmenhilde," Yasaka replied back, politely.

Elmenhilde motioned toward the empty seats. As they sat down, some servants came in and served them refreshments, though for Elmenhilde she only took one glass of wine.

"First, I would like to thank you once again on behalf of the Carmilla faction, for your swift reply." Elmenhilde started, "As mentioned through our envoy, we found some suspicious activities around this region." There was a slight pause, "We believe that the Tepes faction is acquiring some outside help. As much as we would like to believe that this is something minor and we can take care of it ourselves, recent events indicate that this might not be the case."

This time the pause was longer.

"If it is protection your faction seeks, we can certainly help." Yasaka replied, though her tone was wary, "But you have yet to specify what kind of help you are actually seeking from us. Certainly what your envoy stated was not vague but it did raise some concerns. Even now, you are being quite abstract in your explanation."

Instead of answering immediately, Elmenhilde drank her wine. Rude it may be, it was a way to hide her nervousness, or maybe it was to buy her some time, Yasaka couldn't tell it precisely.

"The Tepes faction is desperate. They made a blunder and they are trying to fix it. But it is not their desperation which is worrying us. It is the time. Although we are just a small faction, we know what is going on around the world. The Core Stone is going to resurface soon, very soon. And usually, after the resurface wars break out, mostly between the medium rank factions. But regardless of the ranks, all the factions especially smaller ones like us get affected by these wars."

"You believe some other faction is inciting this fight," Yasaka frowned.

"That's the thing," The discomfort in Elmenhilde's face was now clear to her, "The Tepes faction is not initiating a fight, they are going all out. They had attacked our borders more than ten times just this week. They had taken out two villages, living no survivor. And it is not like they are winning all the fights. They are losing just as badly. They want war. That much is clear. But why now? Why so badly?" The last part she said through gritted teeth.

Yasaka remained quiet for some time. She could sense that the situation was more delicate than they originally thought. Not because of what she heard from her, it was because of what she didn't hear her. According to the intel Yoruichi gathered, the Carmilla faction was sheltering a runaway Tepes royalty. That alone was enough to spark a war. If so, then the Avalon Empire would not interfere since the fault lied on both sides. Unfortunately, movements from the Greek faction were seen around Europe in the last couple of months. And they were being very subtle about it. Which meant, somewhere something bad was going to happen soon. Maybe …

" _Lady Yasaka,"_ Yasaka touched her earrings when she heard Yoruichi's grave tone over the communication. Something told her that she was not going to like the news she was about to receive.

" _Ares of the Greek has been spotted."_

That message alone was more than enough to tell Yasaka how dire the situation had just become. She turned toward Elmenhilde, who went paler, probably seeing her enraged expression, "Your faction will not survive till the next dawn if you do not tell me everything."

.

Ares

.

The vulgar screams of the weak as their lives slowly drained away were like music to his ear. He was a cruel and ruthless god, he knew that. He understood why. And he accepted it with open arms. After all, that was what it meant to be a God of War, to be twisted and merciless beyond common sense. It was the same for Gods of war from other pantheon's as well. But the thing was, he was different from them.

He loved war.

The blood,

The screams,

The suffering,

The torture,

The deaths … He cherished every aspect of the war, be it big or small, relevant or irrelevant.

"Do you think this will force them to come out?"

Ares gave a side glance to the frail vampire, Marius Tepes. Personality-wise both of them shared some similarities. They were both cruel, evil and shared a sense of joy seeing others suffer. But that's where the similarity ended.

"We just slaughtered a town which is … sorry, was under the protection of one of the high ranked nobles from the Carmilla faction. This is a clear declaration of war from your side. And if your judgment on the Carmilla faction is correct, they will not hesitate to retaliate." Ares replied back nonchalantly.

Marius gave a sinister smile, which looked really weird to Ares considering Marius's doll-like face. "And since they have my useless sister, Valerie, they will think they have a chance to defeat us."

Ares nodded but didn't say anything. It was very easy to persuade the so-called mastermind behind the coup d'état and the current king of the Tepes faction to attack the Carmilla faction. It turned out that the Tepes faction had no issues restarting the war but they lacked the power and means to initiate the war. This was where Ares came in. According to their agreement, the Greek faction would give Marius the manpower and arms he needed to break the balance between the two vampire factions by a huge margin. Since their agreement was done and carried out with utmost secrecy, they had the element of surprise. So Ares suggested that the best way to utilize this advantage was to take down the whole Carmilla faction in one swift strike. But the challenge was how to make the Carmilla faction come out in the open and take the bait.

Simple, give them the illusion of hope. Give them an edge which would make them believe that they had the upper hand. After all, it wasn't only the Tepes faction who wanted complete authority over the Vampire faction as a whole. And fortunately for the Tepes faction, they had the perfect bait.

An opening was deliberately created for Valeria Tepes and Gasper Vladi to escape from the Tepes castle. Their escape route was controlled in such a way that led them to the Carmilla territory, and right into the hands of their leaders. Of course Ares knew giving his opponents both 'Sephiroth Graal' and 'Forbidden Balor View' might disrupt the whole plan. So, when Valeria and Gasper entered the Carmilla territory, a small force consisting of Tepes men but armed with the weapons he provided rushed in and snatched Gasper. The timing had to be perfect, too early then Valeria would have turned back and followed them, and too late then they might have faced stronger opposition. And just as Ares predicted, even though Valeria wanted to turn back when Gasper was taken, the Carmilla faction didn't let her.

Of course, Marius was completely against this at the beginning but he was convinced when Ares showed him the complete layout of the plan. And, a small demonstration of the might of his army and the power of his weapons helped as well. Ares wondered, was it because both of them had the same twisted personality which was why they were not having any major arguments? Or was it because Marius was just a plain idiot? Regardless, everything was going smoother than he thought.

Truth to be told, Ares was reluctant to let Valerie go as well. She was quite the beauty and held a considerable amount of power, a perfect candidate to sire strong children for him. He thought of impregnating her before her escape but held himself back. Unfortunately, he had to prioritize his mission. Also, he would take his time with her after all of this is over. After all, it had been a while since he had decent sex, let alone found someone capable enough to give him worthy children.

"They are making their moves," Ares spoke up, loud enough for everyone standing behind him to hear.

"Finally," With a sadistic smile, Marius took flight, most of the men standing behind them following him.

The first part of the plan was to let the Carmilla faction get hold of Valeria Tepes, who wielded the 'Sephiroth Graal'. Then the second part was to attack some of the villages and patrol units on the border in a way to make them believe that the Tepes faction was desperate … desperate to get Valerie back. And just to make sure that they bit the bait hard, they would purposely lose few battles here and there to draw them out more.

"To think they would fall so easily," Ares chuckled. The agreement between the Greek faction and the Tepes faction was simple. They would help them win the civil war and in return the Greek faction would get either 'Sephiroth Graal' or 'Forbidden Balor View', and some of the ancient vampire magic. Of course, it was obvious that the Greek faction had no desire to keep their alliance with the Tepes faction. The question was when to strike at them? When the Tepes faction would be high on their victory celebration? Or just wait and let their own idiocy and selfishness destroy them?

"Now what to …" His thoughts abruptly halted as he felt that. He blinked and then turned his head toward a specific location. He extended his power just a bit to make sure it wasn't an illusion. It wasn't. It had been ages since he felt that unique aura, but he would never forget it. There was no mistake, it was her.

If it was the old him, he would have instantly rushed toward her. But he knew better. Regardless of his desire, they were in the middle of a battlefield. Ares looked back and gave a silent command to his men. Then he scanned the area, as far as he could. There was no other major powerhouse anywhere near them. Satisfied with his finding, he took off.

It took Ares two seconds to reach his destination. And when he landed, she was just a few meters away from him, beautiful as ever. As usual, she was wearing that conservative Shinto priestess attire and over which she wore a white coat and a small golden crown. Her untied hair reached all to her thigh. Sometimes, he wished she was showing a bit more skin or at least wore something that showed off her curves more.

"Yasaka," He didn't even acknowledge the dark skinned nekomata and the other nekoshou beside her, even though later he would admit that they were quite the beauty themselves. Of course to him, they didn't hold a candle compared to Yasaka.

"Lord Ares," And as usual, she had her guard up.

"I am guessing you are here to make a deal with the Carmilla faction," Ares loosened his stance but stood his ground.

"We are here to answer their call for help, yes," Yasaka answered swiftly.

"Giving a helping hand, making a deal, manipulating them like a monkey, at the end don't they all achieve the same result? Because, it's always about your own faction first, right?" Ares chuckled seeing how uncomfortable the nekoshou looked, "It's just how you approach the other party, nothing more, nothing less."

"Believe whatever you will Lord Ares. It is not like you will heed my words anyway…"

"You know that is not right." Ares took his first step, not forward but to the side, and he slowly started walking. Well, more like started circling her without reducing the distance. _"A hunter stalking his ultimate hunt,"_ That thought somehow made him more excited. With a grin, he continued, "I always pay close attention to anything related to you."

"Last time I checked, the Olympians are not welcomed in Europe." Yasaka was moving her body slowly and subtly, but in a way which made sure her back was not facing him at all.

What Yasaka said was the truth, but at the same time it was very offensive. Telling the Greek faction that they were not welcome to their own birth realm was more than enough to rile up any Olympians. Ares would have been as well if he didn't know what Yasaka was doing. She was stalling him. The question was, what could she achieve by stalling him for a mere few minutes? But it was time to show who was the real hunter here.

When Ares took his first step toward Yasaka, her two guards took two steps toward him. His second step made them go on a full battle stance. They drew their weapons at his third step. Fourth step, nothing. But he had to stop after taking his fifth step.

Yasaka flared her powers, as a warning. But by doing so, it made it easier for Ares to get a clear read on her energy, more like the change in her energy. Her energy before was like that of a strong and blessed demi-god, it was divine but not completely at the Godly level. But now, her energy was completely divine and purer than ever before, surpassing most of the oldest goddess he came across. This revelation surprised him, which in turn stopped him.

She ascended to godhood.

Was this bad? No! She was perfect, and now she became more than perfect. Now, he wanted her more than ever. Maybe his resolve showed on his face or his stance because it seemed Yasaka didn't like it as she flared more power.

In retaliation, Ares flared his power. Yasaka was strong, much stronger than last time he saw her but even with her ascension, she was no match for him. And it became clear as he could see small beads of sweat started to form on Yasaka's forehead as her energy clashed with his.

However, his excitement, his desire, everything died when he took the next step.

He couldn't move.

He couldn't breathe.

He felt small, tiny. It was as if his power, his existence was nothing compared …

Ares's eyes widened as he understood what was going on. It was him. He wanted to look around, he wanted to see where he was. But he couldn't move a single muscle in his body. And then he noticed that he wasn't looking at Yasaka anymore. And no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't move his head toward Yasaka. It was as if he wasn't allowed to.

And then Ares felt his presence. He was right behind him, breathing down his neck. The God of War knew that he wasn't there physically but that didn't make it any better. It was …

"Lord Ares, I am quite displeased at your rude behavior toward my wife." The voice was inside his fucking head.

This warning he couldn't ignore. With all his willpower, he jumped to the side creating a huge distance between him and Yasaka. It was then Ares realized, _he_ was not there.

"Thank you, I hope you will remain courteous for the rest of the meeting." And then in a blink of an eye, everything was back to normal.

Ares was sweating profusely. The reason was obvious … he was scared. He had heard how the mortals felt when they were brought before Zeus when he was in his prime. According to the mortals, they would feel as if their existence had no meaning, no value in front of this mighty being. Just like how Ares was feeling now.

" _Lord Ares, we have a situation here!"_ Hearing his captain's voice, Ares subconsciously touched his earrings.

"Report."

Maybe it was his hoarse voice or the gravity of the situation, his captain on the other side started speaking quickly, _"In Tepes capital, multiple attacks were carried out by an unknown party. They targeted a lot of the nobles' residences. There was a lot of collateral damage but no casualties. But we soon found out that the aim of this party was something else,"_ There was a pause as if the captain was choosing his words carefully, _"Lord Ares, our weapons were found at the crime scenes. My men were able to acquire some of the weapons. These weapons are the ones we lost at the dark elves island. And at the same time, someone tipped a few of the nobles about our hideouts in their cities. We …"_

"Retreat." Ares closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He finally got the picture. They lost quite a lot of arms in their skirmish with the Avalon Empire at the dark elves island. He thought that they were going to study those weapons but it seemed they were cleverer than that. The Avalon Empire wanted to create a wedge between the Greek faction and the Tepes faction. And they had done it perfectly, staging these attacks on the Tepes nobles, leaving behind their weapons as evidence and then revealing the location where the Greek faction hid their weapons that were meant to be used to take the Tepes faction down; all the while Ares was kept busy. He had to give it to them, the execution of their plan was flawless. The battle was lost. There was no way to recover from this.

It seemed like the Avalon Empire had won once again.

" _But not completely,"_ Ares thought to himself before he turned toward Yasaka. He noticed how he subconsciously flinched as if he was getting ready to be attacked, but nothing happened. But he knew better, he knew he was still there; watching him, waiting for his move. So, he decided to keep it short, "I have to say, I am honestly impressed at how quickly you have come up with such a devious plan and how thoroughly you have carried it out. You used yourself as bait to lure me out so that I won't notice your teams breaching Tepes's territories. Well done," Ares clapped facing Yasaka, who remained silent.

"You may have won the fight, but the war is far from over," Ares gave her a long hard look before he took flight. And the moment she was out of his sight, he touched his earrings, "All teams, abort your missions. We have been compromised. Make your way toward your designated pickup points immediately."

It took Ares a few minutes to reach his destination, Rhea 00. It was the largest and strongest flying aircraft carrier the Greek faction possessed. Yes, it was true that many individuals could take it down easily, that was not counting the Top ten. Regardless, it was very useful when it came to transferring a large number of men and large types of machinery. Sometimes, it could also be used as a mobile command center.

Instead of taking the upper platform, Ares used a hidden gateway to directly go to the command room, which was only accessible by the Olympians. And he was quite surprised to see the person sitting on the commander's position.

Athena.

Truth to be told, Athena was quite the beauty herself. Her long straight silver hair paired with her silver eyes and pale skin gave her an ethereal look. She was the only child of Zeus who had that particular shade of hair which made her all the more appealing. Unfortunately, her cold unapproachable aura combined with emotionless calculating gaze dampened her beauty, at least that was what he thought.

"You lost the fight."

Ares grunted but couldn't say anything. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to lash out but he couldn't. He knew why. The fear he felt that time drained him more than he thought. It was funny that Naruto Ōtsutsuki wasn't even there. But what scared him the most was that something was telling him that what he felt was just a fraction of Naruto's power.

"But I can't blame you."

The God of war turned toward her sister but again didn't say anything, other than merely raising his eyebrow.

"I felt his power all the way from Olympus," She paused as she stood up, "And that is why I am here."

"Ahh~ To see what can we salvage from this fallout," Ares chuckled, even he could tell it was forced, "Don't worry. At least we got what we initially wanted," With that he snapped his fingers. And not a moment later one of the doors opened and two people entered, pushing a mobile cryotube with them. Ares raised his hand and the two bowed before exiting the room.

"I made sure that the wielder of the 'Forbidden Balor View' was always with us as he was our topmost priority," Ares went toward the cryotube inside which Gasper Vladi was sleeping soundly, he took the digital notepad which contained all the information his men could gather regarding Gasper and started going through the contents, "So the moment I signaled the retreat, he was transported directly here with utmost care, making sure to cover all trails."

Athena got up and walked toward the tube. For a minute or two, she didn't speak. Then she turned around to face Ares, "And the vampire magic?"

"Few minor noble houses decided to follow us," Ares shrugged as he kept reading notepad, "I know that they cannot give us much insight but I believe they could at least give us some direction to start with."

Athena nodded, "I will take the boy if that is alright with you."

Ares didn't reply as something caught his attention. He re-read the contents a few times before it clicked. And then he started laughing. He really couldn't help it. Finally, a break.

"Mind sharing what you have discovered?"

Ares looked at his sister who just delicately raised her eyebrow at him, "Let me have him, I think I can train him better considering the circumstances," He then passed the notepad to Athena.

The goddess of wisdom silently took the notepad and started going over the contents. Not a minute passed by before she was done and looked back at him, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, "You want to use Valerie Tepes as a bait?"

Just as Ares suspected, she got it in the first glance. But it seemed like she wasn't seeing the bigger picture, so he decided to elaborate, "Our little vampire here reveres Valerie, and if the information is correct then till now he was completely dependent on her. I believe with time and training I can switch these emotions to lust and obsession." Ares then turned his head to look at the cryotube, "I have a gut feeling that it will not take much time for that."

"And why do you think it will be so easy," Athena asked, but he didn't miss the slight disbelief in her tone.

"Simple, we tell him what he needs to know for now. And then when he is ready for more, we tell him more." Ares raised his hand to stop Athena from interrupting him, "I know what you are thinking. But I would strongly advise against memory tampering. We need his emotions to be authentic and strong. If we can manipulate his emotions subtly, it will help us to build his character the way we desire. And that is why I believe I can train him better than you."

Athena didn't say anything, just stared at him. It was quite unnerving but he was used to it. Finally she spoke up, "He sees him as a sister figure, as his guardian. Don't …"

Ares scoffed, it was rude for him to interrupt like this but he couldn't help it, "When did our familial relationship stop us from fucking each other?"

That shut up Athena. But she wasn't done, "I thought you wanted Valerie for yourself."

Ares chuckled, he completely forgot about that, "Yes, I did. She was a rare find, I will admit that. But, if I can get a rarer _elite_ general by sacrificing her then I don't see any problem."

Again, she didn't say anything for a moment, just started at him impassively. Then she turned toward the exit,

"In that case, I will leave him in your care."

.

Yasaka

.

It was a mess.

Yes, they had foiled Ares's plan and made the Greek faction retreat completely. But the damage had been done. Although the Tepes faction withdrew from the battle since they realized that they had been tricked, the Carmilla faction kept pushing. Suffice to say, the female-dominated vampire faction renewed their aggression with much more force after learning the truth. They went as far as to officially cut ties with the Avalon Empire so that they could not intervene. But Yasaka knew that they would not achieve the victory they so deeply desired. After all, just because the Greek faction had retreated, it didn't mean that they had taken all the weapons they had provided to the Tepes faction. She could say with certainty that the war would end in a draw, a bloody and costly draw.

So how could she count that as a win?

Yasaka released a frustrated sigh.

"What ails my queen?"

Yasaka couldn't help but smile, despite the situation. When she opened her eyes, there he was. Sitting opposite of her, wearing that gorgeous childish smile of his.

"I thought you had an important appointment with Lord Susanoo." Yasaka tried to glare at her husband, but his contagious smile was making it harder for her.

"Shadow clone jutsu, solving my problem since," Naruto paused as his gaze went upward for a moment before his gaze focused on her again, "God knows when." He immediately raised his hands in placate manner to stop her from replying, "I know~ I know~ I shouldn't abuse the clone jutsu. But you gotta admit, this is quite handy."

That … was very true, and she had no comeback for that. And she knew very well that there was no point arguing over it since Naruto did it for her. He could have waited till she and her team reached the capital. Instead, he teleported to their airship to meet her as soon as he could. The thought warmed her, relieved her from her frustration, albeit not completely. And as usual, Naruto easily saw through her, "What's wrong, love?" His voice was calm, as he gently held her hands.

"I …" Yasaka wanted to say that she failed to stop the war, failed to establish an alliance, failed to help them. But was it the real reason for her frustration? Yes, she was disappointed that she could not stop the Carmilla faction on their meaningless endeavor, but in the end, there was nothing she could do. She could not help those who did not want help. Then why was she feeling like this?

"Is it because you could not stop Ares?"

Yasaka blinked when she heard Naruto's words. It took her a moment but she finally realized, he was right. Releasing a deep breath, she squeezed Naruto's hands, "Even after my ascension, I still needed your help to fend him off."

"He is growing stronger," Yasaka looked at Naruto, surprised. He slightly bent down to kiss her knuckles, "He is hiding it very well, but compare to ten years ago, he became stronger … exceptionally if I am being honest." Naruto released one of her hand and gently stroked her cheek, it seemed her concern was quite obvious, "Do not worry, Ares is nowhere near Sirzechs's level, let alone mine."

"Still, it is quite worrisome, is it not?" Yasaka asked, his gentle touch was doing wonders calming her nerves.

"Yes, it is. Any factions out there could grow stronger but that is not the case for the individuals Gods or Goddesses. Especially Olympians, they should not be able to gain any more power-ups." He released her other hand and then cupped her face, "I know it is troubling but trust me, trust us. We are not alone. And no matter what they come up with, we will always win. And if they truly try to cross the line," The irises in Naruto's eyes disappeared as the scleras morphed to become his new rinnegan. Unlike the previous one, this one looked more … enchanting … frightening … overpowering, "Let's just say, we will have one less faction to deal with."

It was not a threat. It was a promise.

Yasaka knew it.

She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. After a moment of blissful silence, she finally spoke up, "I want to train," Naruto nodded his head, but she wasn't done, "With you."

She put her index finger on his lips, effectively stopping his from saying anything, "You already know, I haven't used the time chamber. I guess it was a blessing in disguise. Because I decided that instead of Lady Amaterasu, I want you to train me." She pressed her finger when she felt Naruto trying to move his lips, "Don't interrupt. I know she is supposed to help me understand the effects and the responsibilities of my godly powers. And I know how important that is, especially concerning the future ahead of us. But I need this. I know this is completely selfish; but this is the first time I am asking, not as a priestess, not as a queen, not as a goddess, but just as myself."

Finally, she removed her finger. Naruto didn't say anything other than holding his gaze. She could see he was thinking. Then out of nowhere, he pulled her into a tight hug, eliciting a surprised squeak from her.

"My wife is too cute~"

Yasaka was completely speechless. But before she could utter a word, Naruto's lips were on her. It was not a passionate kiss, it was more like a teasing one, a caring one. And before she knew it Naruto moved his lips away from her, just barely, "You have no idea how happy I am." She blinked a few times. She really had no idea what was going on, "This is the first time after our marriage that you have honestly asked something from me, for yourself."

" _Ahh~"_ She finally understood why Naruto was so ecstatic.

"Give me a day or two, I will tweak the time chamber so that we can utilize more time," She tried to protest that it was not necessary but her words died down as Naruto kissed her again. He broke the kiss a few seconds later and grinned, "Don't interrupt~ I will divide my work between Jiraiya and August. If I am not mistaken, they schedule should be lightened up by now."

Then Naruto smiled, it was not the childish one. It was his devilish grin, one that was full of promises of trouble and mischievousness, "Do not worry, my love~ I will do everything in my power to help you get stronger. We will explore every possibility; Bochujutsu, Kama Sutra, Lovers bond … nothing will be left unchecked."

Yasaka's eyebrows shot up as Naruto's grin widened.

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

 **Underworld**

 **(3 weeks left till the Core Stone resurfaces)**

"Master Beelzebub has arrived," After announcing Ajuka's arrival, the head butler of the Gremory house moved to the side giving way for Ajuka to enter.

"Good morning Lord Gremory, Sirzechs," Ajuka greeted both of them when he entered the room.

Both Sirzechs and his father got up to greet him back. As they were sitting down, Sirzechs's father motioned the butler to close the door and leave, which he did.

"Quite the unusual place you have chosen for this meeting," Ajuka had seen his father's home office before, but it was the first time he came here for a formal matter.

"That is why I chose it in the first place," Sirzechs replied with a smile. Though the smile disappeared quickly as he turned toward his father. After seeing him nodding back and activating multiple privacy barriers, he faced Ajuka again, "Have you went through my report?"

Releasing a deep breath, Ajuka started rubbing his forehead, a clear sign that he wasn't happy with the outcome, "Look, we are talking about Zekram Bael here. I can predict any," He paused for a moment before continuing, correcting himself, "most events as long as I have the necessary information. But even then, I cannot predict his movement, especially after the current turn of events."

"I thought you said that he was easy to predict." Sirzechs frowned.

"His goal is easy to predict; he wants to be the de facto leader of the devils without having the large target on his head. The way he controls the politics is easy to predict as well; as one of the oldest devil he has the dirt on almost all the lords and ladies of the devil houses, both past and present ones, and delicately uses that to his advantage. Even then I am having a hard time predicting him. Why? Yes, he is cunning which is a given considering his age and experience. But it is his subtlety and patience that makes him unpredictable, at least to me." During the entire duration of his speech, Ajuka didn't stop rubbing his forehead.

"I think I understand your frustration," Lord Gremory spoke up, "After all, this is the devil that followed the original Satans like a loyal hound for thousands of years. There were others who rebelled against the original Satans but never once he showed any sign of switching sides till the very last one. He is the type of devil who will not show his hand even if his whole clan perishes, an unpredictable and patient devil, through and through."

"And yet the Avalon empire read both him and us like an open book." Sirzechs knew he was not being fair on his friend but certain matters on the underworld raised some warning flags on his mind.

From an outsider perspective, the devil faction was recovering smoothly after the nasty fight with the Avalon Empire. The main reason behind it was his and Ajuka's bold move to take in the Extra Demons. Yes, at first it raised a lot of concerns but after seeing how fast the devil faction was recuperating, almost everyone applauded at this step. It was then, Sirzechs realized that the hold Zekram had on the devil faction for almost two hundred years weakened tremendously whereas Sirzechs and his friends' influence was increasing day by day. It came to a point where he could safely say that now they had more control over the devil faction than Zekram. And that wasn't sitting well with him, because he knew very well about Zekram's obsession in being in control. Maybe he was thinking too much but still, he wanted to be sure. That was why he asked Ajuka if he could study Zekram's current behavior and predict his next steps. Needless to say, Sirzechs wasn't happy with the lack of results.

And how did Zekram lost so much influence? It was because of the Avalon Empire.

After the war, quite a lot of the devil lords and heirs went missing. Sirzechs and the rest knew that it was Naruto's doing. Because those that went missing were the most active participants during the massacre. It was easy to see that Naruto wanted to punish them in front of his people. Sirzechs knew for sure that they were all dead, and presumably, they didn't get the swift and painless death. Unfortunately, this was one matter that all the Satans decided to just cover it up and make sure there were no traces left of it. He didn't want any stupid devils using this as an excuse to go against the empire again.

And then there were few lords who lost their positions and quite a few heirs who lost their right to possess 'Evil pieces' because of their indirect participation. Currently, they were all under house arrest. Sirzechs wasn't worried about the lords, he knew they would wait this out. But he couldn't say the same for the young heirs. That was why he was also making sure to keep in touch with them just in case they would think of doing anything drastic.

Lastly, quite a few were executed. All of them were the soldiers that went against his or Ajuka's strict orders. He executed them publicly to show the populace the gravity of the situation. To him, this was a gamble that he was forced to take. If things went well, then the devils would fear the empire and he could use that fear to control them. And if things went poorly, the devils would become enraged which would then create a big mess. But fortunately, everything went smoothly.

Truth to be told, Sirzechs was happy at the outcome, especially at how the most involved ones been taken care of. Yes, what they did was unforgivable but it wasn't a spur of the moment kind of thing. These devils were committing heinous crimes behind closed doors for quite some time. Just look at what Diodara was doing, gathering holy maidens in the cruelest and vilest way possible, all the while fooling everyone with his kind and generous façade. If this went out, the Heaven faction would be at their doorsteps, armed to the teeth. And Diordara wasn't the only one with a skeleton of this size in their closet. Cleaning up all these messes needed all four Maous working around the clock. In some cases, Sirzechs had to indirectly threaten the whole house to make sure they buried those secrets properly.

Now, why was he thinking about those despicable devils? Because all of them were active followers of Zekram. Meaning inside and outside of the devil council, Zekram didn't have as much sway as he had a year back.

"Did you try to meet him, Lord Gremory?" Ajuka turned toward his father.

"I did but the old devil is keeping to himself these past few months," Lord Gremory sighed, "As far as I know, it's not just me. He isn't meeting anyone these days."

"Now, tell me this is not worrying," Now it was Sirzechs who started rubbing his forehead, "Instead of going out there trying to restore his influence with the old devil houses and spread it to the new ones, he just sitting still, doing nothing."

"Okay, look, the worst case scenario that I can come up with is that he is siding with the old devil faction. I am sure even you could see that. But even then, things won't end well for him no matter the outcome. Yes, he is capable of taking planned measures which could earn him heavy favors from the old devil faction, but this is still too risky for him." Ajuka leaned took one of the champagne glasses and emptied the content in one go, "Is he planning something right now? Definitely. Does his plan require him to go against us? Maybe. Will he execute the plan anytime soon? Will he take any drastic measures in the near future? No. He will wait it out. He will wait hundreds of years if he needs to. So all we can do is to wait with him and create contingency plans as we move forward. That is the best I can come up with."

"And that is more than enough," Sirzechs looked at his father who was looking tired, "Sirzechs, I know why you are restless, why you want to make sure everything is under control."

"I have fought countless battles against the descendants of the original Satans. I have lost quite a few times, which led to the death of some of my finest and closest men. But I have never felt this hopeless and powerless against the empire, against Naruto Ōtsutsuki. He and his empire could have wiped us out. I don't want an incident like this ever to happen again," Sirzechs refilled Ajuka's glass and took another one for himself, "And that actually made me realize something. It's just not him. Even the Hindu faction could easily wipe us out if we make an enemy out of them. We are so focused on the Biblical faction that we forgot that there are other powerful beings, factions out there who outclasses us by a huge margin and who can wipe us out effortlessly."

"It was partly our faults as well," His father interrupted him, "You two are the strongest devils ever to exist, the first devils ever to reach the top ten. And we used that as an ultimate excuse, as our strongest shield. Well, at least now all of us learned our lessons."

"Look Sirzechs, the best course of action is to observe him closely and his actions. If we see anything out of place, then we can think of something. Till then, there is no point in stressing ourselves to this extent." Ajuka chipped in as well, as he finished his second glass in one gulp.

Sirzechs could only nod his head, even though he didn't like the situation at all. He could only hope that nothing major would happen anytime soon that could trigger something similar to the nekoshou massacre.

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **Alright, first I want to talk about the non-English reviews. I do read them. I use google translate to understand what you guys are writing so don't think that I skip your reviews.**

 **Second is about Jiraiya's marriage partners.** **All of them are OC** **. No, none of the canon characters from DXD are his wives. Some has connections with the canon characters but that is it. Hopefully, it will remain the same in the future.**

 **Speaking of harem, lot of you guys want Naruto to have one. But here is the thing, I cannot write a good harem. So I don't want to add elements to the story that may ruin it. Who knows if my writing skills regarding romance and harem becomes better then I may CONSIDER it. But for now, I want to stick to a single pairing.**

 **Now, a lot of you will be saying after reading that chapter that Naruto should just crush Ares and the Greek faction. Yes, trust me, he should. But realistically, he cannot. I already showed from first arc that Naruto will not hesitate to take lethal actions to protect what is dear to him but I also showed how actions have consequences. And think about it, the Greek factions has not done anything that is remotely harmful, even if it is by a small margin, to the Empire. Well I can go on and on, but just saying don't lose your shits guys. Ares will get what is coming to him, just not yet.**

 **As for Naruto's resurrection power, he has few limitations. Again, I will tell more about it on next arc.**

 **That is for now, next chapter is the last one for this arc meaning the whole chapter will be about the core stone.**

 **Well, that is all, till next time.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here is the 12** **th** **Chapter and the last chapter for this Arc. Also please read the author's note at the end, I have an important news to share.**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto or High school DxD; except for the story concepts.**

.

.

.

.

 **Gods & Monsters**

 **V**

 **Heaven**

 **(The day before the Core Stone resurfaces)**

"Brother?"

Michael released a deep breath and raised his head to meet the gazes of his fellow Seraphim. Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael were standing in front of him. He could tell that Gabriel and Uriel had no clue why they were called but Raphael knew. Michael honestly didn't know how he would go about telling this but he knew that he couldn't delay this any longer. After all, the core stone would be resurfacing the next day. And all of them would be seeing Naruto Ōtsutsuki face to face. And he had a strong feeling that Naruto would be the center of the attention, one way or the other.

"What I am about to tell you should not leave this room, under any circumstances," All of the three Seraphim straightened up, "And I also urge you not to make any rash decisions yourselves. Remember, we do not represent the Heaven faction only, but also our father."

It was clear that Gabriel wanted to say something but held herself back. Michael sighed, "With that being said, what is your honest opinion about Naruto Ōtsutsuki?"

The question was a bit random, and he could see the confusion in Gabriel and Uriel's faces. It was Uriel who spoke up, albeit cautiously, "In a general term, Naruto Ōtsutsuki is a great king. Yes, some of his actions may seem questionable in our eyes, but that also meant that he is capable of making hard choices. As for my personal opinion, I will reserve my judgment since I have not met him directly."

Michael nodded and turned to Gabriel, "Do you believe the same?"

Their sister pondered for a while and then nodded back.

"I see," Michael let out a tired and pained smile, "A year ago I had a meeting with him, you all know that. I wanted to persuade him not to take any direct confrontation. But when I saw him, what I saw in him, shook me to my core." With that, Michael waved his hand and immediately the light in front of him distorted and started taking Naruto's shape. He purposefully made it in a way so that his eyes were the last one to reveal. And when Gabriel and Uriel finally saw the eyes,

"This cannot be?!"

"What in the name of …?!"

Michael let his calming aura wash over them. Although they stopped shouting, they were still very tense. With a sigh, Michael continued, "I have told Raphael about this before," He immediately raised his hand to stop Gabriel and Uriel, "The reason why I didn't tell you two because I myself was lost. Out of you three, I was sure that at least Raphael would not have charged toward the Avalon Empire to confront him directly." The sheepish smiles on Gabriel and Uriel brought a gentle smile on his face, "I even consulted with Azazel. We had a long discussion regarding this. We haven't come up with any concrete idea but Azazel believes this may be something to do with power cores."

Even the Seraphim didn't know how the power cores were created. All they knew was that the Biblical God at his last breath did something which resulted in the creation of the power cores. And as far as they knew, one way or the other, all the factions had found one power core each. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case for the Heaven faction, the Grigori and the Devil faction. Michael thought the power cores, which were meant for them, might had created Longinus or they were still dormant. But Azazel till now had different opinions. He believed that the power cores reserved for them were special. He believed that they had a purpose of their own; either that or someone already found them. Both of them fervently hoped that it wasn't the last case.

"Do you mean that he is our father's reincarnation?" Gabriel spoke, her voice was nervous and hopeful.

Michael didn't have the heart to say it, and so Raphael spoke up, "I am sorry sister but I don't believe so. But I do think that he is somehow related to our father."

"The easiest way to find that out is to see how much control he has over the Heaven system." Michael thought he would be criticized but it seemed he was wrong.

"Are we going to approach him at the core stone?" Gabriel asked.

"If the opportunity arises, then we will. But," Michael's voice became stern, "Do not approach him on your own, do not do anything which may set him off. I promise you this, if we do not find the right timing tomorrow, I will try my best to set up a meeting with him after the top ten revelations."

Although reluctant, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael nodded their heads. Michael gave a wry smile and hoped… no, he prayed that the next day would pass by without many commotions.

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

 **Underworld**

 **(The day before the Core Stone resurfaces)**

"This… when did this happen?"

Sirzechs gave Ajuka a wry smile. He couldn't blame his best friend for being so shocked. Because, unfortunately, the news he gave him was anything but pleasant. Sighing for the umpteenth time, Sirzechs motioned Ajuka to sit down, "Mephisto Pheles personally passed the news to me today morning," Then he pointed at the paper Ajuka was holding, "And he had it in a written form as well."

"Sirzechs," It was clear to Sirzechs that his friend's shocked state was gone, now it was replaced with frustration, "This is outrageous. The core stone is resurfacing tomorrow! And he pulled this stunt today. We are not fools, Sirzechs. It is clear that Mephisto had planned this for quite some time. This is clearly an act of treason."

Sirzechs smiled, though it had no humor in it, "Is it now?" Seeing the stunned look on his friend's face, he started to elaborate, "As you said, Mephisto had been planning this for quite some time. If so, then do you really think that the old coot missed any blind spot? Yes, we are not fools. But compared to him, we can still be considered as foolish children."

"So, you are just going to let him leave like that?" Ajuka was not angry, but he was getting there.

The silence in his study room became quite deafening.

Sirzechs let that uncomfortable silence linger for a little longer before he finally decided to break it, "Ajuka, Mephisto didn't betray us." Ajuka's eyes narrowed in defiance but Sirzechs continued regardless, "Don't forget, Mephisto Pheles is the oldest devil alive; older than Zekram Bael himself. This devil is the one who outright defied the original Satans and lived to tell about it. And in the civil war, although he didn't help us directly, he passed quite some valuable information to us. So, personally, I don't think he is the backstabbing type of devil. Even if he was, I am sure he was smart enough to do it more discreetly than this."

Another bout of silence passed before Ajuka released a deep breath and slouched on his chair, "I don't like this Sirzechs," Sirzechs didn't say anything back, his silence was enough to rile up the usually calm devil, "Damn it Sirzechs! Don't tell you don't see the pattern, that you don't hear the whispers. Something big is going to happen tomorrow, there is no doubt about it. And I can guarantee you that the Avalon Empire will be in the center of this shitstorm."

Ajuka tightened his hold on the paper so much that it started to crumple, "Believe me when I say that I agree with you on Mephisto's character. He is neither a backstabbing devil nor a malicious one. But that doesn't remove the fact that he is a very dangerous individual. His real power isn't his experience or strength that he collected throughout his long life, it is his knowledge. After all, as you said, he is older than Zekram Bael. And unlike Zekram who spends all of his time and resources in creating the ultimate political throne, Mephisto used his to seek knowledge of all kinds." Ajuka then roughly put down the paper on his table, "And now Mephisto officially cut all ties with the devil faction. He stated here that he did it to pursue further knowledge but even your young sister, Rias, can tell that this is bullshit."

"But what can I do?" Sirzechs interrupted, his voice was tired, "From a general perspective, everyone agreed since what he gave away is quite generous. All of his lands in the underworld and his complete fortune under his Pheles House name in exchange for officially cutting ties with the devil world. Who would complain? I mean to everyone else, he is from the Extra Demon who rarely stays in the underworld. And plus," Again Sirzechs pointed at the paper, "He called in few favors."

"I have a feeling that …"

"I know!" Sirzechs growled which effectively shut Ajuka up. It seemed his anger was finally slipping out, "I know where he is going. What I want to know is why he is going to them and when he started associating with them. And how would it affect us."

"You want me to find the answers?" It wasn't a question but a statement.

"You already did in your own way," Sirzechs started to rub his forehead, "We are going to find out tomorrow."

Ajuka eyebrows shot up as he understood what he meant. Regardless, Sirzechs could see that Ajuka already started to create scenarios to come up with the answers to his questions.

With a sigh, Sirzechs got up and went to the shelf near his desk. In his mind, it didn't matter much at this point. Because to him, the Avalon Empire had already rolled the dice. And the only thing the devil faction could do was to wait for the result. Yes, there was a chance that Ajuka could figure out the result, the motives. But even if Ajuka's prediction would come true, they wouldn't be able to stop the Avalon Empire. By no means, he was blaming his best friend. It was just that if Ajuka could come up with a hundred scenarios, there was no way they could prepare the contingency plans for all of them. It was just not possible. And Sirzechs knew, from experience, that Naruto Otsutsuki wasn't someone anyone could predict no matter how good they were.

Sirzechs picked up a photo frame. The past year was one hell of a ride for him. The devils went out of control under his rule, as a consequence he was crushed in a duel with him and the whole faction was brought to its knees when the devils went against him and his faction. The foundation of the devil faction afterward was so shaken that he was worried it might spark another civil war. It was, after all, a worst-case scenario that Ajuka thought of. Fortunately, it didn't happen, rather the four Satans got more political control over their faction which they used to rebuild the foundation. Yes, Sirzechs could safely say that by few more years they would completely recuperate… but the scars were still there. And he could say for certain that these scars would remain for centuries, maybe even longer than that.

Sirzechs gently stroked the picture of his family. The only ones who truly knew about his mental scars were his father and his wife. His father, because Sirzechs told him. He had a feeling that he would have figured it out anyway. As for his wife, with all her stoic personalities, she was quite perceptive when needed to be. She was the first one who saw through him and also the one who suggested consulting with his father. Without their help, he shuddered at the thought of what he might have done or become.

Unfortunately, his defeat affected his other family members as well. The one who was affected the most was his sister Rias. While his mother, Venelana Gremory, and his son, Millicas Gremory, became insecure and would often check up on him, Rias took his defeat differently.

She started training seriously.

Although it started somewhat on a good ground, over time her desperation to get stronger started to crack her relationship with her peerages. Fortunately, he noticed it immediately. And because of that, he was able to help her before it was too late.

So, right now to him, everything was almost on the verge of completely being fixed. And then this happened.

" _No, I became too relaxed,"_ Sirzechs thought with a grimace. He was so busy with rebuilding the devil faction, improving the foreign relationships, helping his family, monitoring the Avalon Empire… fixing himself that he forgot about the resurfacing of the core stone. And what usually would happen to the supernatural world afterward. But most importantly, the inevitable meeting he would have with the one and only Naruto Otsutsuki. Maybe it was a prediction, maybe it was an omen, but something told him that the outcome of the meeting at the core stone would change the course of the supernatural world.

Sirzechs Lucifer hoped, prayed, that this change wouldn't undo the fixes he had done. Because he wasn't confident enough if he could redo all of them again.

.

.

xxXxx

.

.

 **Amaterasu, the capital of the Avalon Empire**

 **(The day of the Core Stone resurfacing)**

"They threw you out, didn't they?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at Jiraiya's jab, "I wanted to see how my hime looks like!" He immediately raised his hand to interrupt Jiraiya, "I know~ I know~ I will be seeing her when she is completely done dressing up. But I wanted to see the process as well. How she goes from pretty to prettier."

Jiraiya gave a flat look which spoke volumes.

"I know it sounds stupid."

"You think?"

Now it was Naruto who gave Jiraiya a flat look who dismissed it nonchalantly and gestured toward the exit of the palace garden. With a sigh and an understanding nod, Naruto started following Jiraiya.

"So how are you feeling?"

Naruto slightly turned his head toward Jiraiya and raised his eyebrow, "Are you seriously asking me that, ero-jiji?"

"Yes, I am. I know your resume as a leader is beyond amazing. After all, you were one of the best Hokage ever to live, heck many would say that you and Gaara were the best Kage ever to exist. Even in this dimension, you united the youkai as a great champion; and currently doing your best as their king. No one can doubt your charisma and brilliance, let alone your ability as a leader. But that doesn't mean you cannot be concerned when attending something of this caliber, especially since you will be pulling all those huge-ass stunts. Yes, you need to be calm and in control in front of your people and companions, but that doesn't necessarily mean you are." Jiraiya smiled, it was one of those smiles that always got him, "And from experience I can tell, talking always helps."

Naruto chuckled but didn't say anything back for a while. As always, Jiraiya went right for the bulls-eye. The thing was, he expected that. He let the comfortable silence linger for a while before he finally spoke up, "I am not that worried, ero-jiji. Compared to the people from our old dimension, the ones from here are quite predictable. I guess that living for so long affected their views and goals. Not only that … the way they think, the way they handle and approach a situation seems quite rigid and straightforward; sometimes, quite unoriginal if I say so myself. It also means that it is easy for us to predict their plans and disrupt them." Releasing a deep breath, Naruto looked up, "But that doesn't mean we can predict everything and even if we can, not all the time we can stop them before it is too late."

"Sometimes we have to let other people's fields burn so that we can keep ours safe."

Naruto closed his eyes and grimaced at Jiraiya's words, "Because there is responsibility and then there is heroism."

There was a pause before Jiraiya spoke up, "I think the ladies are almost done," It seemed that he was also reluctant to broach that topic again.

Naruto didn't need to look at the palace garden. With his enhanced senses, he knew Yasaka and Amaterasu were done dressing up and in a few minutes, they would reach the garden. He turned to Jiraiya. Since Jiraiya intentionally changed the subject, he decided to go with it as well, "Are you sure about not joining?"

Jiraiya shrugged with a smile, "The Core Stone resurfaces at the core of the earth. Only a handful of people can go there from each faction. From our empire, you, Yasaka and August are more than enough I believe. The Shinto faction is attending separately as planned, with Lady Amaterasu, Lord Susanoo, and Lord Tsukuyomi."

"Do we really need to go separately?" Naruto groaned, "I am sure everyone already knows that our empire and the Shinto faction are allies."

"For appearance's sake,"

Naruto groaned again, "For appearance's sake, of course."

"And besides, I need to stay back to make sure all of our projects are running smoothly since all the big shots are leaving." Jiraiya grinned and started walking back toward the garden.

Naruto didn't like it but he knew he had to give up. Even now, Jiraiya preferred to work from the shadows. He was content with running the spy network and training the anbu elites. Of course, he would never shy away from handling big projects rather he would take them if he could manage the time. But attending or hosting big meetings was still a no go for him. He would only attend any big events if there were no options available or he was the best option for them.

Unfortunately, all of his thoughts regarding Jiraiya came to a stop when he saw his wife, Yasaka. His wife was one of the most gorgeous women he had ever seen, both in this life and the previous one. And there was no one who could make him think otherwise. But right now, she looked breathtakingly beautiful. Usually, she would wear a formal shrine maiden attire, the design of it would vary based on the occasion. But it seemed she went all out this time. She was wearing a lavender-colored royal kimono mixed with beautiful snow-white patterns. The kimono showed off her neck as she was wearing a small but artistically crafted fox necklace. And instead of wearing her usual small crown, she was wearing a head ornament made of crystal and pearl which enhanced the beauty of her long flowing blonde hair. At that moment, she really looked like an untouchable queen.

"You look beautiful," Naruto breathed out as he gently took her hand.

"Thank you," Yasaka giggled, "You look dashing yourself." Hearing that, Naruto let out a satisfied grin. But when he turned to her side, his grin turned into an embarrassed smile.

"I know Yasaka looks gorgeous but at least try to act as if you have seen others as well." Amaterasu wasn't offended, Naruto could tell from her smile. But he knew for sure she would tease him about it later.

"My fault. I mean no disrespect, all of you ladies look beautiful. It is just that I am a whipped husband," Naruto gave everyone in the vicinity a charming smile. The ladies who were accompanying his wife and Amaterasu all giggled lightly into their hands, even Amaterasu was amused.

With a light chuckle, Naruto turned his body to the side, "Shall we go then?"

"You two go first," Amaterasu spoke up, "I will meet with Susanoo and Tsukuyomi, and go there on our own."

Naruto nodded back in understanding. Then he turned to look at Yasaka and squeezed her hand, who nodded back immediately. And then a second later, he teleported both of them to the Kyoto lookout. It was a small artificial land, floating above Kyoto city. The moment Naruto teleported there with Yasaka, he was greeted by Sesshomaru.

"Everything is ready Naruto, Lady Yasaka."

Naruto nodded but didn't say anything, he just looked up to see the crack in the sky. From what he learned, no one could go directly to where the core stone was located. Even though everyone knew it was at the core of the planet, it wasn't possible to reach that place. According to Jiraiya, that place was so tightly secured as if it didn't exist at all. The only way to have access to that place was to go through these portals. During the day of the resurfacing of the core stone, these portals would appear all over the world and they would remain just for that day. Each faction would secure the nearest portal and then a few selected would travel using it. It was quite cumbersome but Naruto could see the reasoning behind such securities.

"Alright then, we shouldn't keep August waiting," Naruto let go of Yasaka's hand. It wasn't that he wanted to but he had to. Because, according to the rules set by all the factions, each person had to travel on their own from this point onward. With a sigh, he looked at Yasaka, "Here goes nothing."

Naruto flew toward the crack and dove right in. The travel was instantaneous, although he could tell that it wasn't teleportation. Regardless, the first thing that came to his mind when he reached his destination was, _"How unoriginal~"_

The place was large, heck, it looked endless since the only thing Naruto could see at the very far end was the ground and the sky merging. Speaking of ground, it was just reflective surface and the sky was pure white. Even the core stone, which was situated in the middle, was just a plain huge marble pillar. There was no carving, no decoration. Everything looked so plain.

"My king, you have arrived." August greeted him politely.

August's voice snapped Naruto out of his trance as he finally noticed that he wasn't alone. Yes, the place looked ordinary but everyone who was there was anything but ordinary. And all of these extraordinary beings were either subtly or openly looking at his direction.

The first one Naruto noticed was the Hindu faction, or more like Shiva. His current appearance was that of a young adult, lightly build and tanned with neatly combed black hair and sharp blue eyes. He knew Shiva had a tendency to change his appearance and age but after his bout with Naruto, he stuck to this form. He wasn't alone, Brahma and Vishnu were accompanying him. But there was another group from the Hindu faction which was standing away from them. He didn't know anyone from the second group but he could tell who was Indra even though he personally never met him. Buzzcut brown hair with a medium build, tan skin and brown hair, nothing out of the ordinary. But even though he was suppressing it, Naruto could still sense his real power.

It had been while so Naruto wanted to greet Shiva but his sudden impulse was stopped when he felt the tug on his coat. He looked to see it was Yasaka who had just arrived. And seeing her concerned look, he gave a weak grin. It wasn't the right time and this wasn't his old dimension, it seemed he almost forgot it. He turned to see that Shiva was also looking back at him. The god of destruction nodded his head at him and then turned his gaze away. Naruto understood his message loud and clear.

With a heavy sigh, Naruto started inspecting other factions. It was completely unintentional but the next faction to catch his eyes was the Greek faction. Not because there was anything special, but because he caught Ares not so subtly eyeing his wife. Naruto knew his wife was beautiful, and so did many others. That was why she was highly sought after, but that was before her marriage. After their marriage was announced, everyone backed off; everyone except this one. Rolling his eyes, Naruto put his hand delicately behind his wife's slim waist and then he moved in a way so that Ares couldn't see her at all. It was then he noticed that there was a silver-haired woman beside Areas who was very subtly looking at him. Dismissing her, Naruto quickly looked over to see that Poseidon and Hades were there as well. But although they were in a group, he felt a distance amongst themselves. Noting this odd behavior, Naruto's focus moved on.

The moment Naruto's eyes landed on the Norse faction, they met Odin's. Immediately the smile on the chief Norse deity turned mischievous. Naruto could only groan. It was frightening how much Odin and Jiraiya were similar to each other. His gaze then moved toward his sons Thor and Vidar, who were talking with a few other Norse gods. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't know them. Yes, he was quite familiar with Odin but it was his wife who had a close relationship with the Norse faction as a whole. He wanted to officially visit Asgard but he never got the time to do it, something he was going to rectify soon. With that in mind, Naruto looked at the faction closest to them.

The Heaven faction of the Biblical faction had the most attendees. As usual, the Biblical God was missing but all the four Seraphim were here, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. There were two more angels other than the Seraphim. Unfortunately, Naruto couldn't recall their names, just as he couldn't remember the current Pope's name who was also present there. It wasn't that he wasn't informed about them, quite the opposite in fact. August and Jiraiya came up with a list of possible candidates from each faction who could be joining. Naruto didn't read it. He wanted to figure out his adversaries on his own. Of course, he wouldn't have done that if he was here alone. He knew for sure that August and Yasaka already knew the profile of each and every being present here. With a shake, Naruto looked at the other attendees from the Heaven faction. He knew Griselda Quarta and Vasco Strada, but he didn't know the boy. Blond hair, green eyes and looked quite laid-back but Naruto knew that he was strong. He could sense the Longinus within him, he didn't know which one was it but he could tell it was one of the high-tier ones. One thing which felt a bit odd was that for some reason, the Seraphim were trying their best not to look at him.

Next was the Grigori of the Biblical faction. Naruto was surprised to find that Azazel, leader of the fallen angels was looking at him openly. When their gazes met, he gave a nod of acknowledgment. Naruto returned the gesture politely. He saw that other members of the Grigori, Shemhazai, Baraqiel, and Kokabiel were also looking at him, albeit they were being very subtle about it.

The devil faction was the only Naruto wanted to skip. It wasn't out of spite but he already knew about them enough. One glance was enough to tell him everything he needed to know. But Naruto knew that every being present here was observing his movements with rapt attention. So with an indifferent expression Naruto kept his gaze on the devil faction group. He knew all four Satans would be present. And they were. Although Sirzechs Lucifer, Serafall Leviathan and Falbium Asmodeus were talking amongst themselves; Ajuka Beelzebub was quiet and was standing a few steps away from them. Even though his eyes were closed and he looked like he was resting, Naruto could tell all of the green-haired Satan's senses were locked on him. Unfortunately, Naruto could neither blame him nor he could do anything about that in that situation. So, with a sigh, he moved his focus again.

But a small ripple in the energy shifted his attention. In an empty space, approximately thirty feet away from him, Amaterasu appeared; followed by Susanoo and Tsukuyomi. All three of their gazes locked onto his first. A small nod and then all three of them started scouting the area like him.

He was surprised to notice that most of the beings were still focused on him. With a grin, he turned his head toward the group with the most eccentric attires. It was the Egyptian faction.

Unfortunately, another energy ripple forced his attention to see the newcomer. It was Khaoss. He had the appearance of an old man with crimson eyes, a very long white beard, and long eyebrows. He was wearing a plain white toga with black embroidery, which was quite loose on his body, giving him an old and frail look. Despite looking like this and the fact that the man was walking slowly with using a wooden staff, Naruto knew that everyone could tell that the old man was anything but frail.

And which faction was Khaoss belong to? The answer was none. Because no one was sure about his origin. According to the legends, there was a primordial entity from Greek faction called Khaoss. Some even thought that he was the one who created the Greek faction, by creating Ouranos and Gaia. Then he used the rest of his life-force to create Tartaros, Eros, Erebos, Nyx, Aether, Hemera, Pontos, Thalassa, Phanes, Physis, Chronos, and Ananke. That was the end of Khaoss of the Greek. And then this being appeared somewhere around the mid of Middle Ages and called himself Khaoss. Many factions tried to recruit him but had no success. Heck, most didn't even know where he usually stayed.

Naruto's musing stopped when he heard a loud bell. Blinking, he looked at the source of the sound. It was the core stone. It pulsed again, creating that loud bell sound and slowly started to rise up.

"Esteemed attendees, it seems that the core stone is going to start revealing the top ten very soon," Michael said as he stepped away from his group and stood near the stone.

" _Damn, we should have come a bit earlier,"_ Naruto clicked his tongue. He quickly glanced over the rest of the groups. Amun-Ra was leading the Egyptian faction. Tiamat was leading the dragon group, and then there was Mephisto Pheles leading the mage faction. He frowned when he noticed that the Celtic faction and the Persian faction were missing.

Another pulse came from the core stone, and the chattering of the crowds increased. Everyone's attention was now solely on the core stone, Naruto was no exception. Ten seconds later the stone pulsed once more but this time it glowed as well; and the anticipation in the air increased by tenfold immediately after. It was time for the core stone to start revealing the names, starting from the tenth place. And then the first name was shown at the very bottom of the core stone,

Yasaka Otsutsuki

Shinto Goddess of the Stars

Immediately after the name came out, there was a pin-drop silence. Naruto couldn't blame anyone since he himself was stunned. And when Naruto looked at Yasaka, he found her expression super cute. She was completely stiff as if she had no idea how to react. Naruto gave Yasaka a one-arm hug and kissed her lightly. Honestly, he wanted to do more but for now, that had to suffice. Although he was thrilled that his wife, Yasaka made it to the top ten, it also brought one major concern. Not to demean his wife, but Yasaka wasn't strong enough to reach the top ten six months ago. Only after her ascension and the special training they had together, Yasaka's strength grew by leaps and bounds. But this growth was very recent. So his question was how did the system behind the core stone was able to measure this?

Unfortunately, the next pulse from the core stone took away his attention,

Ares

Greek God of War

The silence was broken by Ares's deep throaty chuckle. The pride in his stance was hard to miss. The rest of the Greek faction's attendees nodded their heads in satisfaction, but Naruto could tell something was amiss. One thing was for sure, he would keep a personal eye on the Greek faction from now on.

Another pulse from the core stone and next name came out,

Ajuka

Emerald Devil of Creation

Naruto instantly knew who fell out of the top ten. It was Thor, Hades, and Lugh. And without even looking at any other factions, Naruto knew that they had also figured it out. Now that everyone knew that the bottom tier of the top ten had been changed, their focus was back on him again. After all, his positioning on the core stone was the main dish. It was then that Naruto noticed something odd. Regardless of whose name was coming out, not a single being was doing anything remotely to show a bit of recognition or appreciation. It was understandable since most here were not on friendly terms. And then there were the consequences of such actions. Even though Naruto understood this, he didn't like it. It was making everyone look unfriendly and frankly, Naruto thought it was rude.

Next pulse and the fourth name came out,

Sirzechs

Crimson Devil of Destruction

Even though Naruto knew everyone's attention was on him, Naruto still turned his head and looked at the Devil faction's group. Unsurprisingly, he found all the Satans staring back at him, confused and cautious. He knew he would be hearing an earful from Yasaka and August later, but he couldn't stop himself. A wine glass was materialized on his right hand as he was still hugging Yasaka with his left. And then while locking his gaze with Ajuka, he tilted the glass toward him and gave him a genuine smile. A gesture of respect and recognition. And then he turned toward Sirzechs and did the same. He didn't wait for their response and turned his gaze back at the core stone. He could see their dumbfounded faces without actually looking at them. Heck, he could feel that everyone was beyond shocked at this. Well… almost everyone, his wife just let out a knowing sigh.

The fifth name came out with the next pulse,

Amun-Ra

The Supreme Egyptian God of Sun and Light

The Primordial One

Naruto didn't know Amun-Ra at all. So he was positively surprised when he found the Egyptian God was staring back at him with pure amusement. Amun-Ra was quite large, muscular build and was wearing what Naruto assumed ancient Egyptian clothing. As Naruto gave him the same gesture of respect and recognition, Amun-Ra nodded back in appreciation, his staff tilting toward him.

Naruto had to turn his head toward the core stone as it pulsed once more,

Indra

Hindu God of Heaven and War

King of Svarga and Devas

Another major god that Naruto had no contact with, something that he would have to rectify soon. Unlike Amun-Ra, Indra had a calculating look on his face as their gazes met, something Naruto had no problem with. He did the same gesture to Indra who nodded back in appreciation but Naruto noticed the slight hesitation. It was when Naruto turned his head away from Indra that he noticed it. The anticipation on the air was rising. Naruto already knew why.

The seventh name was out,

Khaoss

The Primordial One

Naruto felt the surprise from most of the attendees, heck they were now outright staring at him. Dismissing the increase amount of attention, Naruto turned toward Khaoss and gave him the same gesture of respect and recognition. And as expected, the old man didn't even open his eyes. He just stood there like a statue, eyes closed.

Then came the eighth name after the next pulse,

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Guardians of Hell and Abyss

The Primordial One

Now Naruto was surprised. He already knew that he was stronger than Khaoss but he didn't know for sure if he was able to surpass the four horsemen. They were a force to be reckoned with. After all, he was speaking from experience. Regardless, it seemed he got the second place. Not bad for…

The ninth name was out,

Trimurti

Brahma

The Hindu God of Creation

Deity of Supreme Divinity

The Primordial One

Vishnu

The Hindu God of Protection and Preservation

Deity of Supreme Divinity

The Primordial One

Shiva

The Hindu God of Destruction

Deity of Supreme Divinity

The Primordial One

Naruto blinked; once, twice. The silence was quite deafening. Naruto didn't know about others, but his mind was blown away. He was so shocked that his left hand fell off from Yasaka's shoulder and the wine glass disappeared since he lost his focus. There was a possibility for this scenario but it was very damn low.

Naruto was awakened from his trance by the last pulse from the core stone,

Naruto Ōtsutsuki

The God-king of Monsters

Chief-Deity of Order and Chaos

God-king of monsters? Chief-Deity of Order and Chaos?

" _What the fuck?!"_ Naruto was certain that he didn't say those words out loud, but maybe it was his expression? Yasaka lightly tugged his sleeve and that was enough for Naruto to compose himself.

Naruto was told about the titles that the core stone would give. If it was a deity, the title would be their domain area plus their faction name. It was done for a title not to be repeated. The only exception was 'The Primordial One' title. This title was only given to those who existed from the dawn of time. And then there was 'Deity of Supreme Divinity' title shared by Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu. They were the only ones who had such a unique title. Until now…

Naruto took a step forward and he immediately felt everyone's direct gaze. But he didn't let it bother him. Telling that the last few minutes were shocking would be a grave understatement. But the main show was about to start now, and he was the host.

When Naruto reached his destination, which was few meters away from the core stone, he turned around. His gaze met his wife's first, and immediately she nodded her head, silently encouraging him. Then he turned toward Amaterasu. She, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi were standing slightly far away from their group. She also smiled at him encouragingly. Naruto returned the smile and then released a deep breath, "I believe a small introduction is in order. Although no one is saying it out loud, I am sure most of you here are thinking 'who is that damn brat'. I can't say I don't understand your concern," Naruto pointed the core stone behind him with his thumb, "The core stone here didn't really help my case. So, before everyone's imagination starts running wild, I will tell a bit about myself."

Ares sneered. Naruto just looked at him. There was no threatening or condemning expression on Naruto's face, just a lazy smile. The sneer from Ares completely evaporated as his face took a neutral expression. But Naruto didn't miss the sweats forming on Ares's forehead. Regardless, he continued, "I will not lie. Will I tell only what I deem is necessary? Yes. But I will not lie. Will I avoid answering particular questions? Maybe. But I will not lie. Will I twist my words to make all of you believe what I want to? That is up for your interpretation. But I will not lie. Whether you believe me or not, now that is entirely up to all of you."

Naruto's focused gaze met Shiva's amused one as he kept going with his introduction, "My name is Naruto Ōtsutsuki. A leader's death, a power core and a plea for a miracle brought me to life." Naruto chuckled when he saw that almost everyone had a questioning or disbelieve look on their faces, "A puzzle, I know. But that is all I can tell about my origin. As for my adventures, I joined the Great faction war seventy years ago. I led my side to victory but at the end of the last fight, I was… let's say, immobilized. It took some time but I got back up on my feet. After that, I united the youkai, married the most beautiful woman, created a kingdom by allying with the Faeries, made the kingdom an empire, and most of you know my recent exploitation." Naruto looked at the devils when he said the last words.

"I know that many of you are thinking that I haven't revealed much, or that why am I bothering to reveal anything at all; or what is my message behind all of this," Naruto turned sideways to face the core stone, which was still floating, "After the core stone reveals all the names, everyone usually parts their ways without speaking to any other factions. Everyone goes back to their faction and discusses amongst themselves to decide on their next course of action. Now, just to be clear, I am not judging anyone here or stopping anyone from leaving. The thing is, I have some important news to share and I was hoping everyone could spare some time and listen."

"I don't mind," The first one who spoke up was Azazel, "I must say, that was quite a remarkable speech. I hope I am not being rude here, but what kind of news will you be sharing? Just in case, so that we are prepared if you throw something mind-blowing at us."

Naruto chuckled but his eyes quickly glanced over everyone. It seemed that other than Ares, he had everyone's attention and from the looks of it, most agreed with Azazel. So, it was time for the main course, "Thank you, Lord Azazel. As for the answer to your question, there are only two things that I will share and both of them are quite mind-blowing if I am being honest. But to what extent, that I will leave it up to your discretion."

"First of all, I am happy and proud to present 'The Alliance', a newly formed faction." Naruto dismissed the pure shocked expression on most and carried on, "Although I called the Alliance a faction, it is more than that. Just as the name suggested, the Alliance came to be when multiple factions, groups, and people with similar mindsets came together to create something unique, something to rely on. Now, as for who are the members of the Alliance …"

Yasaka and August started walking toward Naruto. When they were close enough, Yasaka spoke up, "The Avalon Empire is a member of the Alliance. We are also the founders."

Amaterasu started moving when Yasaka was finished. She, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi stood close to Yasaka and August. Amaterasu's voice didn't show an ounce of the emotion of what Naruto was sure she was feeling, "The Shinto faction is a member of the Alliance."

The moment she was done, Mephisto started walking along with his mages. He stopped when he reached his destination and turned to face everyone else, "The Magician Society is a member of the Alliance. And for all those who don't know, the Magician Society includes all the magician organizations and all the contracted and legal mages."

Then it was Tiamat, the dragon queen, who came and stood near Mephisto. She was accompanied by Fafnir and Yu-long. All the three dragons were in their human forms. Tiamat's voice was quite laidback compared to her sharp features, "The Dragons under the current living dragon kings will be a part of the Alliance."

Then the final member finally started walking. By now everyone stopped breathing but seeing him moving toward the large group, Naruto was sure that their brains stopped working.

"I, Khaoss, will join the Alliance."

Maybe this was Naruto's biggest guilty pleasure, doing something so unpredictable that results in everybody's souls leaving their bodies. Other than the members of the Alliance, everyone was shocked. Naruto let out a small mischievous smile as he thoroughly enjoyed the view. He was truly savoring the moment and making sure he wasn't missing any details. After all, he would have to share the memory with Jiraiya.

And then the guarded, wary and unfriendly expressions started to emerge on their faces. Unfortunately, Naruto knew why. From their point of view, Naruto basically announced the third High-tier faction which was much deadlier than the Biblical faction and the Hindu faction. Since one, they…

Naruto blinked and looked at Shiva. The mighty God of Destruction was chuckling, and soon it became full-blown laughter. The pressure in the vicinity dropped as again everyone, including Naruto and his companions, were stunned. Shiva turned to Naruto, his laughter stopped but he still had a huge smile, "I know you are unpredictable but to pull something like this," Then his gaze went toward the core stone, "And in the day of the top ten revelations no less. You truly are an amusing and unpredictable king."

Naruto chuckled, "I aim to please Lord Shiva."

Shiva then turned around and addressed the rest of the beings, "I know we all have questions, we all have our concerns. But may I suggest, we hold onto those reservations till the end. After all," Then he turned to Naruto, "King Naruto is not finished. And I for one would like to hear and see what more mind-blowing things you can share with us."

Brahman and Vishnu took a step forward and stood side by side with Shiva. The message was clear, they wholeheartedly agreed with Shiva. And just like that, everyone focused their attention on Naruto again, albeit some were quite displeased but no one voiced out anything.

Naruto nodded gratefully at Shiva, "Thank you, Lord Shiva," Then he faced everyone again, "I know everyone has tons of questions regarding the Alliance. But, we have limited time right now. So what I propose is that I will send a messenger to each faction who would answer your questions to the best of their abilities. Not just about the Alliance, but about the next topic as well."

With a wave of his hand, Naruto's overcoat disintegrated into particles. But those particles didn't disappear, rather they moved forward and started to combine slowly. And finally, the full shape was revealed. It was a miniature sculpture of an island, with multiple smaller islands surrounding it. The main island had a huge mansion right at the center.

"I am proud to present to all of you," Naruto pointed at the miniature sculpture in front of him, "The Kushina Academy."

Disregarding the stunned silence, Naruto started to circle the sculpture, "I know, this came out of nowhere. I mean I announced the birth of a new faction and then next I am announcing the opening of an academy. Where is the connection here? The answer is, there is no connection. The Alliance was created because there was a need. But the academy was created because I wanted to create an institution which is open for all the factions."

Naruto paused, to let his audience digest the words. Slowly whispers began. And a moment later, Azazel stepped forward, "You mean to tell me that you opened some kind of an inter-factional school?"

"Yes. I am formally inviting all the factions to send possible candidates to attend the Kushina academy," Naruto grinned, "And before everyone starts asking what are the courses, who are the teachers, what are the rules and regulations? Let me tell you frankly. I don't know." Naruto again savored the stunned look on everyone's faces before he continued, "Because other than the headmaster's position, every position is open. Rules, regulations, courses, management, structure, funding, everything else is left for suggestions."

Naruto counted to three in his head, and then everyone exploded. Technically, no one was shouting but their voices were quite high. It seemed they stopped all pretense of subtlety. Naruto looked at the commotion in front of him and wondered _, "Is this why I got that title of Order and Chaos?"_

Shiva took a step forward and everyone immediately held their tongues. He raised an eyebrow at Naruto, amusement flashing in his eyes, "Maybe instead of enjoying the mayhem, King Naruto, you could tell us exactly why you created an academy out of nowhere and what are you expect with this move?"

" _Busted,"_ Naruto grinned sheepishly and then faced his audiences again, the island sculpture behind him, "Guilty as charged, and I apologize for that Lord Shiva. But the answers to your questions are quite simple, at least from my point of view. You see, I am quite new to this world compared to most of you. But even then, I had to participate in a great war and in many battles. I have seen lots of deaths and sufferings. And that is within a span of seventy years. I mean no disrespect to anyone, but I have learned that even though there are many cultures, many differences, one thing is common; the strong thrives while the weak withers."

Naruto's gaze hardened, "So why I created the academy? What do I expect from this? Simple, I want a better future, a peaceful world for my children; and the children of all of my companions and people. But to achieve that, they need to learn about other factions, their cultures, their way of life. And what better way for them to do that then," Naruto turned and pointed at the sculpture. "Also I have noticed is that we lack a place where all of us can mingle and relax without doing anything remotely threatening to any factions. We also don't have any place or any activities where we can harmlessly flex our muscles. So I thought why not? So, here we are … Kushina academy."

The silence that came after this was quite comfortable than before. The whispers were also more controlled. Finally, someone stepped forward, it was Odin, "A phenomenal idea for a very noble cause. Just as Lord Shiva said, you do leave up to your name as an Unpredictable Ruler. But I have a few questions, quite simple ones actually. So I hope you can answer them to the best of your abilities."

Naruto smiled and motioned for Odin to continue. Odin stroked his beard once as he asked, "Who is the headmaster of this academy?"

Naruto turned sideways and pointed at Khaoss, "Lord Khaoss will be the headmaster of the Kushina academy."

Odin disregarded the stunned silence, he looked more expert at this than Naruto, and continued, "Will there be a board of directors?"

Naruto smiled, "This is not set yet, but I am hoping to create one. The board of directors will include one person from each faction, factions who will be sending someone to the academy. They will also be the ones who will come up with the rules and courses, along with the headmaster."

Odin smiled and stroked his beard again, "Giving an equal chance to everyone, splendid. Now, my next question is, you said that everything else is up for suggestion meaning you already have a draft plan for everything. May I know what is your plan regarding safety and security?"

Naruto's smile widened. He moved away so everyone could clearly see the sculpture. Then he pointed at the main island, "the Alliance will personally set up protective barriers and runes around the island and Lord Khaoss will be in charge of maintaining them. Of course, before the start of the academy, the board of directors can personally see and test them as well. And, if any factions want to help with setting up the barriers, then they are more than welcome. That is for the main island, where the academy is."

Then Naruto pointed out the smaller islands, "As for the living arrangements for the students and teachers, each faction can take one island and use it as a boarding house of their own. They can add as many protective spells as they want and build the boarding house however they want. Of course, you have to submit in a written form as to what spells and magic you have used and Lord Khaoss will personally check if they are authentic and durable or no."

"As for the guards and the securities," Naruto turned toward Odin and shrugged, "I will leave it up to the board of directors and the headmaster."

Odin hummed and kept stroking his beard. He didn't say anything for a full ten seconds. Then out of nowhere, he started chuckling, "Since you cannot help the old change their ways, you are paving the way for the young to make their own decision. After all, it is the young who are the future." After that Odin looked back at Thor and Vidar. A second later, he turned and looked at Naruto. Odin's smile turned warmer and sincere, "The Norse Faction welcomes the Alliance as the new faction. We will also send possible candidates to attend the Kushina academy."

"The Egyptian Faction also welcomes the Alliance as the new faction," Amun-Ra spoke up immediately after Odin, "As for the academy's part, we believe it is a splendid idea. Unfortunately, we have to decline your generous invitation. I hope we haven't offended you."

"No, Lord Amun-Ra," Naruto shook his head vigorously, "You haven't offended me or anyone else by declining the invitation. Make no mistake, this is an invitation only, not a demand. And I know this is a lot to take. So, I am not expecting an answer right now. But," Naruto turned toward Odin, his smiled mirrored his, "Thank you for the leap of faith."

"If I may King Naruto," Indra stepped forward, "I have a few questions regarding the academy." When Naruto nodded his head toward him, Indra continued, "How many seats in the board of director can each faction take?"

"One faction can only send one representative to be in the board of director." Naruto answered immediately, "Again, this is not set yet. But, the Alliance can come with the first draft of founding rules and send it to all the participating factions for evaluation."

Indra nodded his head and then asked, "If a certain faction has too many attendees, students and teachers alike, will it affect other factions in any way?"

"No, the headmaster will make sure that everyone is treated fairly." Naruto's voice was resolute.

"Now my next question may be a bit sensitive but I mean no disrespect. Will Biblical faction have one representative or three representatives in the board of directors?" Indra asked, his gaze locked on to Naruto.

Naruto felt the uneasiness coming in waves from the Heaven faction, the Grigori faction, and the Devil faction, but he didn't turn away from Indra, "I can see your concern, Lord Indra. But let me tell you something. Let's say, there are ten members on the board of directors. Nine of them want to make a new rule but one is strongly against it since it will affect all the attendees from his faction. Then the rule will not pass. After all, my moto is either everyone is eating less or everyone is eating until they are full. No one will be left starving."

Indra didn't say anything, he just held his gaze with Naruto. It was as if he was searching for something in his eyes. And then a moment later, he turned toward Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu; all of whom nodded back at him. Then he turned back at Naruto, his gaze was soft and his smile was sincere, "The Hindu faction welcomes the Alliance as the new faction. We will also send possible candidates to attend the Kushina academy."

"The Greek faction welcomes the Alliance as the new faction," The lifeless voice made Naruto to look at the speaker. It was Hades. For some reason, that guy gave Naruto goosebumps. Hades wasn't done, "As for the invitation, we will need some time to think it through."

And with that, everyone from the Greek faction disappeared.

"They left, huh~" Naruto mused. Then he turned toward the remaining factions, the Heaven faction, the Grigori faction, and the Devil faction, "I do not need an answer right now. Please, don't feel pressured just because some have already accepted. Take your time."

"I believe we should take our leave now. Maybe unintentionally, our presence is creating a sense of pressure. If so, I sincerely apologize for that. We had no such intentions, "Naruto then took a step back and waved his right hand. The miniature sculpture of the academy disintegrated and slowly gathered around his to take the shape of his former overcoat. He then turned toward the Hindu faction's groups and let out a sincere smile, "Thank you for the leap of faith." Then he turned toward the rest, "I sincerely thank each and every one of you for staying back and listen to what I had to say. I hope everyone had a productive time. I pray everyone to have a long and peaceful life ahead of them."

Naruto then raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

.

Azazel

.

The moment Naruto snapped his fingers, he along with all the members of the Alliance disappeared. Yes, there was a rule that you have to enter the place one by one but there was no such rule for leaving.

It was as if a spell had been lifted, a show had ended. The moment they had left, everyone just stood there. There was no denying the fact that Naruto and his little presentation left a huge impression on everyone. Then slowly, one by one each group started leaving till only the Grigori and the Heaven faction left.

"All of you should return," Azazel told Shemhazai, Baraqiel, and Kokabiel. All of whom nodded and disappeared. But Azazel didn't miss the complicated expression on their faces.

"I have something to discuss with Azazel," Michael spoke up as well, his voice was resolute and final. Azazel clearly saw the displeased faces. Surprisingly though the rest of the Seraphim agreed quite easily. It was the pope and Griselda who were the most reluctant. But in the end, all of them left.

"You have told Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael?" Azazel asked. They were the only ones left in that endless space.

"I have told Raphael long ago. Gabriel and Uriel just learned yesterday," Michael looked at the core stone. Azazel knew what he was looking at, or more precisely whose name he was focused on.

"I see." Azazel slowly walked till he stood beside Michael, "Quite surprising that they didn't make a fuss during his stay."

"He didn't reveal his eye, that helped," Michael mused, "What about your people?"

Azazel grinned, "I told them to be prepared for a huge surprise. Who knew that the surprise would turn out to be this?"

"A leader's death, a power core and a plea for a miracle," Michael turned to face Azazel, "You were right about him."

Azazel shook his head, "Don't jump to conclusion so quickly, brother. I suggest that instead of guessing we should confront him directly." He then looked at the core stone, the name glowing on the topmost section, "I can say for sure that he will sincerely listen to us. But I am afraid, after today, I cannot say for sure what actions he will take after he learns about the impact his power has over the Biblical faction." Seeing the concerned expression on Michael's face, Azazel sighed and started elaborating, "I am not sure if you have noticed it or not, but that guy in one go completely changed both the power structure and the social system."

"How can I not?" Michael sighed, "The Alliance may not be the strongest faction in terms of pure power and followers, but it is, without a doubt the strongest active faction." Again he turned toward the core stone, "Khaoss and the Four Horsemen have completely no concerns regarding the supernatural world. The Trimurti will only intervene if their faction faces grave danger. But Naruto Ōtsutsuki is completely different. Even the reclusive Khaoss who refused to join any factions till now has sided with him. That alone should tell anyone how much he has shaken the power structure."

"And then the Kushina academy, an ingenious idea if I say so for myself," Azazel voice was filled with admiration, he couldn't help it, "For centuries we tried to do something, anything to bring stability within the factions, at least something to satisfy everyone. And then here he comes with something completely unpredictable, blowing everyone's mind. I have to admit, I didn't think it was possible to come up with an idea which would interest every faction, ultimately making them invest in it."

"He hasn't reached there yet, but he will,"

"No, he has already reached there." Azazel shook his head, completely disagreeing with Michael, "The Norse faction and the Hindu faction openly accepted the invitation, meaning they will very soon get in touch with Naruto and will be involved further. I do not know about the Egyptian faction, the Celtic faction, but the Greek faction may send at least a few to attend there. Of course, they will have hidden motives but even I think they are not stupid enough to try something directly. As for us," Azazel paused as his gaze met Michael's, "The Grigori faction will send candidates to attend the Kushina academy, both as students and teachers. And I hope you do the same."

The surprise in Michael's face was easy to see. But the understanding that followed soon after wasn't something Azazel expected.

"Of course," Michael smiled, "If it was up to me only, I would have accepted the invitation right there. Unfortunately, I have to discuss it with a few before confirming it."

There was a pulse that forced Azazel and Michael to look at the source. The names in the core stone slowly started to fade as the stone started to descend. The moment it touched the ground surface, it pulsed one last time.

"Guess, it is time for us to go."

Azazel spoke up, Michael nodded in agreement. Then in a blink both disappeared.

.

.

.

 **Done**

 **This is the end of 'Gods & Monsters' arc.**

 **As for the author's notes:**

 **First is that I plan to make 'The Fourth Beast' completely AU. Since the actions that were taken in the story and the things I have introduced do not allow me to follow the cannon storyline. So, instead of Kuoh Academy where you would only see Rias, Sona & their peerages, I created Kushina Academy where you will see members from all the factions, both as a teacher and students. So, in a nutshell, Kushina academy is kind of like an international and updated version of Kuoh academy. I also have few more surprises regarding the academy. Unfortunately, all of these will be shown on the arc after the next one.**

 **Next Arc is 'GodKing' where the main focus will be the friendly but serious duel between Naruto & Shiva. I already planned out the chapters but it will take some time before I can update.**

 **So, here comes the second piece of news. Currently, I am planning to write an original webnovel. Although I locked down on the concept, I am still polishing up the world and the characters. What I mean is that from now on I will be spending most of my spare time there. It doesn't mean I am dropping this story, just that I will come back to this when I get my vacations.**

 **I will try to update my profile as often as I can to keep you guys informed if you would like.**

 **So, that is all for now. Till next time everyone …**


End file.
